Barca Should Have Sold Messi

BARCELONA: Barcelona Acting President Carles Tusquets said today he should have sold Argentine star Lionel Messi this summer.

Messi tried to leave Barcelona this summer before giving up.

He can now negotiate with another club in January and leave his club for free when his contract expires in June with Manchester City expected to return to lure the 33-year-old to leave the Camp Nou.

“From an economic point of view, I can sell Messi this summer. In economic terms it is needed,” Tusquets told Catalan radio Rac1.

“La Liga introduced the ceiling salary and that helped us,” Tusquets said when asked about the potential transfer potential.

Tusquets, who held the post after the resignation of Josep Maria Bartomeu in October, ruled out the possibility of Neymar returning to Barcelona from Paris Saint-Germain.

“If he comes as an independent, it will be, but if we don’t sell players, we can’t buy new players. It is not possible, unless the next president (who will be appointed on January 24) has a miracle in his hands,” Tusquets said.