Rivaldo, once of Barcelona and Brazil, hasn’t held his tongue when discussing the serious economic situation at Barcelona in comments carried by Diario Sport.
For him, it was a serious error from an economic perspective to not sell Lionel Messi, no matter the damage it would have done from a sporting perspective.
Rivaldo claimed the the board should have done what Real Madrid did when Cristiano Ronaldo’s time at the club was at a close.
“The previous board made a mistake by not selling Messi when he still had a contract,” he said. “They could have done something similar to what Real Madrid did with Cristiano Ronaldo when they sold him and made about €100m”
He claims convincing Messi to renew his contract will be a tough ask for the incoming president. “Now, Messi’s departure seems inevitable,” he said. “It’s very painful to see how such a talented player is going to leave Barcelona for free when the club is going through so many economic problems.”
Born in Recife, Rivaldo joined Barcelona from Deportivo La Coruna in 1996 and would go on to spend five years at the club before joining Milan. He won two La Liga titles in Catalonia as well as the Copa del Rey and the European Super Cup. He also won the Ballon d’Or in 1999.
With Brazil, Rivaldo won the 2002 World Cup, the 1999 Copa America and the 1997 Confederations Cup. He’s regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation and one of the best Brazilian footballers of all time.
