Lionel Messi Leaving Barcelona Not A Good Idea For Superstar, La Liga President Says

La Liga president Javier Tebas recently discussed the possible impact of Lionel Messi’s Barcelona departure, revealing that he doesn't think the move would benefit the superstar in the long run.

Messi’s exit saga this past summer dominated headlines and ultimately ended with the Barcelona star staying with the club. For Tebas, Messi is an icon not only for Barca but for Spain as well, and him leaving the club he has served for two decades may not be good for his legacy.

"As I always said, I will always want to see Messi in La Liga," Tebas told reporters in a media conference, Goal reported. "If he stays at Barcelona, much better for Barcelona. The union between Barcelona FC and Messi is so good for Barca, for Messi and for La Liga. I'm not sure whether departing from Barcelona would have been a good idea for Messi."

"Maybe yes as a player, but not for Messi as a football industry, because Messi is a machine in creating industry around him," he explained. "Not sure whether it would have worked for him."

After a tumultuous stint in the summer, Messi decided to stay with Barcelona, at least until his contract expires next year, after both LaLiga authorities and Barcelona hierarchy asserted that his €700 million ($825 million) release clause would need to be paid before he can leave.

Tebas is happy the Argentine has opted to stay but is holding on to the fact that Messi’s situation has not created turmoil for La Liga as an enterprise.

"Messi will finally stay but I must say that we had already sold La Liga TV rights worldwide for the next four years and nobody called us asking to cancel that agreement in case Messi would leave," he revealed. "No one."

Another La Liga superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo, left Real Madrid for Juventus in 2018. The Portuguese forward's departure was a huge loss to La Liga, but as per Tebas, it will be a whole different story if the one leaving is Messi.

"Cristiano's departure, even though it annoyed Madrid, had almost no impact because La Liga has spent years ensuring that the brand transcends the players," Tebas told RAC1 in June.

He continued, "But Messi's case is different. Messi is the best player in the history of the game. We have been lucky to have him in La Liga for his whole career. I think you would notice Messi's departure, especially if he went to another league."