'From an economic point of view it would have been wise to sell Messi'

Carles Tusquets current president of the FC Barcelona controlling committee maintains that selling Messi would have helped the club's 'worrying' financial situation.

Head of the interim FC Barcelona managing committee Carles Tusquets conducted an interview with local Catalan network RAC 1 and was frank and forthright relating to the precarious financial situation at Barça.

Asked about the possible Lionel Messi exit in August, Tusquets admitted that a sale for the Argentine would have alleviated the financial pressure the club currently finds itself in and added: "this however, is also a matter for the sporting side to analyse, economically it would have been desirable to sell the player with LaLiga demanding a series of salary caps but it needs to be ratified by the coach and his backroom staff". Tusquets admitted in the interview that the current financial situation was desperate and confirmed that the first team players have agreed not to collect their January 2021 pay-package.

No Ney

The executive also offered his view on the recent rumours linking Brazilian star Neymar Jr with a Camp Nou return adding: "If Neymar comes on a free transfer, then it could be considered, if not, no, as there is no money to sign him. The only way around this would be the new president delivering some sort of miracle and subsequent getting approvals from the sporting directors.