"This led to ridiculous inflation" - Barcelona director blamed Lionel Messi's former teammates for financial collapse under Bartomeu

Ex-Barcelona director and presidential candidate Emili Rousaud has claimed that Lionel Messi's former Blaugrana teammates caused the club's financial collapse during Josep Maria Bartomeu's presidential tenure. The Catalan executive made the claim in his newly released authorised biography titled 'The Faith of the Entrepeneur'.

During Bartomeu's term as president (between 2014 and 2020), Barca made a slew of mind-boggling fiscal decisions that left the club in disarray. The Catalan giants made a number of big-money signings, including Philippe Coutinho (€160 million), Ousmane Dembele (€148 million) and Antoine Griezmann (€120 million).

The Blaugrana administration also signed exorbitant contracts with players, draining the club's budget beyond its capacity. By the time Bartomeu departed and incumbent Joan Laporta took over, a huge rebuilding process was required to clean up the messy state of affairs.

In his biography, Rousaud claimed that Messi's closest friends at Barcelona, including Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets, were also to blame for the club's financial plunge. He asserted that the veteran stars demanded huge pay rises despite knowing the club's sorry state of affairs.

Rousaud explained (via Barca Universal):

"Barca's problem was having the best player in the world, and he was the only one who generated what he earned. But the environment of Leo's teammates pressured the president to raise their salaries too. This led to ridiculous inflation. Pique was a good defender, but he wasn't the best in the world, yet he was the best paid. The club's salary structure was broken." "In any company, there must be a balance. When the pandemic hit, the situation got worse because ticket revenue disappeared. The players refused to lower their wages, and honestly, as a club member, I was ashamed. Not as a manager—but as a fan," Rousaud added.

The biggest consequence of Barcelona's financial mismanagement was the departure of Messi, arguably the greatest player in their history, on a free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 2021. Subsequently, the club generated revenue by selling star players and rebuilt through their academy, and are now re-establishing their status as European giants under Hansi Flick.

Lamine Yamal set to be handed Lionel Messi's iconic No. 10 shirt at Barcelona - Reports

According to reports from Jijantes FC (via Barca Universal), Spanish giants Barcelona are planning to give boy wonder Lamine Yamal the iconic No. 10 jersey, once worn by superstar forward Lionel Messi.

The Argentine is widely considered as the best player in Barca's storied history. Donning the Blaugrana colours for 17 years, he racked up an eyewatering 672 goals and 303 assists in 778 appearances for the club across all competitions.

Due to his incredibly similar style of play and limitless potential, Yamal has been billed as the natural successor to Messi at Barcelona. Even before his 18th birthday (July 13), he has already racked up 25 goals and 34 assists in 106 appearances for the club.

According to Jijantes, the Catalan giants are planning to host a presentation ceremony on Wednesday (July 16) to announce Yamal's contract extension and hand him the No. 10 jersey. His new deal will reportedly last until the end of the 2030-31 campaign, making him the face of the club's new era under German tactician Hansi Flick.

Edited by Sankalp Srivastava