Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has broken his silence on Lionel Messi’s departure from the club, describing it as an “historic mistake” that continues to haunt the Catalan giants both on and off the pitch.
In a candid interview, Bartomeu admitted that letting the Argentine legend leave in 2021 was one of the worst decisions ever made by the club he once led.
‘An historic mistake’
“Messi’s departure from Barca for me felt like an historic mistake,” Bartomeu said, speaking out after years of relative silence on the matter.
The former president, who has been widely criticised for the financial mismanagement that plagued his tenure, did not hold back in his assessment of the exit that shook the football world.
“His contribution was crucial on the pitch and on the commercial side,” he added. “Some of the financial challenges we’ve faced in recent years can be explained by the absence of a player like him.”
The numbers behind the regret
Bartomeu’s words are backed by hard data. At the time of Messi’s departure, the Argentine was generating an estimated €235 million more for Barcelona than he cost the club over a four-year period, according to financial consultancy Diagonal Inversiones .
The commercial impact has been stark. Barcelona’s shirt sales have dropped from being consistently at the top of global rankings to now trailing rivals Real Madrid, who lead the world with over 3.13 million jerseys sold annually. Barcelona currently sit second with approximately 2.9 million shirts sold .
Even more telling is the rise of Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami — the two clubs Messi joined after leaving Catalonia.
PSG currently occupies third place in global shirt sales with 2.54 million units, while Inter Miami has stormed into fifth position with 2.1 million jerseys sold, a meteoric rise driven almost entirely by Messi’s presence in Major League Soccer .
“Just look at what happened at PSG and Inter Miami,” Bartomeu said. “He’s more than just a player.”
The financial black hole
Barcelona’s post-Messi financial struggles are well documented. The club inherited over €1.5 billion in debt from the Bartomeu administration, combined with crippling La Liga salary cap restrictions that have prevented new signings .
The club’s wage-to-revenue ratio still hovers around 80 per cent, far higher than the 50-60 per cent range of healthier European clubs . Barcelona have been forced to sell 25 per cent of their La Liga TV rights for 25 years, 49 per cent of Barça Studios, and 24.5 per cent of their licensing and merchandising division just to stay afloat .
Bartomeu, however, has pushed back against claims that his legacy was solely to blame for Messi’s exit.
Blaming the new board
“If they had done what needed to be done, it would have been perfectly possible to renew Leo Messi’s contract and sign players,” Bartomeu claimed in a separate interview, directly challenging the narrative pushed by current president Joan Laporta .
He argued that the current board “inflated the losses to €555 million” when they took over, leading La Liga to impose stricter financial fair play penalties that the club has never fully recovered from .
“I tried to renew Leo Messi’s contract,” Bartomeu said previously. “It was essential to maintain our income level and because we were missing that player who brings a higher level of performance” .
He also revealed that a move to Miami for both Messi and Luis Suárez had been discussed long before it eventually happened .
What could have been
Bartomeu lamented the missed opportunity for Barcelona’s young stars to learn from the greatest of all time.
“All these young players on the team, with Leo, would have learned faster,” he said. “They are learning a lot, but they would have done so more quickly” .
“One or two more seasons at Barça, at least until the World Cup, would have been very positive for Barça,” he added. “He won a World Cup and another Ballon d’Or, and we couldn’t enjoy him as Barça fans; PSG did” .
The legacy of a mistake
Messi eventually found his way to Inter Miami via a two-season spell at PSG, where he helped the French club maintain its commercial dominance while Barcelona struggled to register new players and balance their books.
For Bartomeu, the wound remains fresh.
“Messi’s departure is one of the worst decisions that has ever been made,” he said in a Danish interview published on June 8, reiterating his position just days ago .
“His contribution on the sporting side and his economic and commercial contribution are irreplaceable. Part of the financial problems we have had in recent years are due to the absence of a player like him. You only need to look at the numbers at PSG or Inter Miami. He is more than a footballer.”
As Barcelona continue their long road to financial recovery — with the renovated Camp Nou expected to boost matchday revenue by €150 million annually — the shadow of Messi’s departure looms large .
Whether the club can ever fully replace what they lost remains an open question. Bartomeu, for his part, seems to have already answered it.
