José Elías insists Barcelona knew they had to say farewell to Lionel Messi this past summer.Elias was the key financial backer of Joan Laporta’s successful presidential campaign earlier this year.
Asked about Messi’s move to PSG, he stated: “The end of Messi could be seen. You had to create a new team and with Messi you couldn’t. He’s old enough to not be at Barça.
“To turn Barça into a winning team goes through a post-Messi project. A decision had to be made at some point.”Messi did not cry for not continuing at Barça, but he cried for a sum of things. Messi was finishing a cycle. And to that is added that he has made life in Barcelona and that the family were settled.”
