Vicham
Midfield
I think there is some truth to that. Barcelona and Messi have known for months, it would be more than difficult to get a deal done.The more this unravels I think this has been the plan for months. If he renewed before his deal expired then he could have stayed at barca, they knew that.
There was a report months ago that ramos told Madrid he was off and him and messi were going to Paris. I woukdnt be surprised if they did it this way to save the clubs image with fans as they tried their best and saves his image with the barca fans as being forced out.
Let's face it, I like barca but he's joining a far better squad equipped to win things in his final years.
And still Barcelona have signed several players, Aguero, Eric Garcia and Depay notably. They must have known that they might very well not be able to re-sign Messi.
I think they opted for quality and numbers rather than spending it all on Messi.