FC Barcelona has reportedly decided to let go of their Brazilian superstar in order to accommodate Lionel Messi’s return. In the last few weeks, the rumors of Messi wanting to return to Barcelona have grown stronger. Even Barca’s vice-president Rafa Yuste admitted that the club is trying to bring back their talismanic player. However, for bringing back Messi, Barcelona has reportedly decided to scapegoat Raphinha.
Raphinha, who signed for the Spanish giants last year, has had a mixed season so far. The Brazilian star has scored 6 goals and provided 4 assists in 25 La Liga appearances so far. Despite the occasional moments of brilliance, Raphinha has actually failed to justify the $61 million that Barca had paid for him. The former Leeds United star was especially poor in Barca’s recent 0-4 loss to Real Madrid in the Copa Del Rey semifinals.
Real Madrid have scored 4 goals against Barcelona for the first time since 2008. pic.twitter.com/6gxdZTOVdW
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) April 5, 2023
According to reports from Forbes, Barcelona is looking to off-load Raphinha in the upcoming summer transfer window. Apparently, Barcelona is not happy with Raphinha’s “lack of professionalism and camaraderie.” The Brazilian faced the heat after he showed his displeasure at being brought off the pitch during the match against Manchester United.
Raphinha was furious after being substituted out vs Manchester United in the first leg. When he walked out of the pitch, he kicked a fridge, hurting his knee, which made it impossible for him to start against Cadiz due to strong discomfort.
— @mundodeportivo pic.twitter.com/1a5mlz2Fxt
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) February 26, 2023
Raphinha, who was visibly angry, reportedly hurt his foot while kicking at a refrigerator out of anger. In spite of getting several chances, Raphinha still hasn’t managed to convince Barca’s coach, Xavi, and the club’s board of his performances. Moreover, with the talks of Lionel Messi’s return to Camp Nou, letting go of Raphinha would massively help Barcelona financially.
What does FC Barcelona need to do to accommodate Lionel Messi’s return?
While Lionel Messi’s return to FC Barcelona sounds nice on paper, in reality, it is difficult to execute. Even after activating several economic levers, Barcelona hasn’t still managed to achieve the financial condition that it desired. Moreover, Barca is set to lose a huge amount of money ($99 million) as they will temporarily relocate to the Montjuic Stadium for the next season due to the renovation of Camp Nou.
La Liga boss Javier Tebas recently announced that Barcelona has to reduce their wage bill by more than $200 million. While Barca has disputed Tebas’ claim, it is true that the La Liga leaders do have to let go of several players from their team who take up a majority chunk of the wage bill. Back in February, Barca’s sporting director Mateu Alemany spoke about the current condition of Barca’s wage bill.
The return of Leo Messi on a financial point of view depends on Barça having to sell players and reduce the salaries of some players in order to reduce €200m of the wage bill. These are measures they have to take, even if Messi accepts a pay cut.
— @sport pic.twitter.com/war7S3nHg9
— Barça Universal (@BarcaUniversal) March 29, 2023
Alemany said, “(Antoine) Griezmann and (Gerard) Piqué, who were under contract until next year, have reduced the cost of the squad by €90 ($98) million. We reduce that amount of the wage bill with two players.” Moreover, Barcelona is looking to offer new contracts to players like Jordi Alba and De Jong with lower salaries. Plus, the club will be looking to reduce the budget of its other sections like basketball, handball, and so on.
Even after these adjustments, Lionel Messi’s return to Barcelona can only be facilitated if the PSG star decides to accept a much lesser salary than what he used to earn earlier at the club. Under the new contract, Messi would earn $213,000 annually. In addition to this, Messi will earn about $106 million that would come from the proceeds of his farewell match.