Barcelona begin their 2021/22 La Liga campaign against Real Sociedad at the Camp Nou on Sunday, with the club still in a state of disarray after the loss of Lionel Messi to Champions League rivals, Paris Saint-Germain.
One of the reasons believed to be behind the decision to let the Argentinian move on is the failure of the current board to be able to reduce the salaries of its biggest stars to an acceptable level for La Liga.
Financial Fair Play will almost certainly start to play a bigger part in European football from now on, and Joan Laporta clearly felt that he couldn’t take the risk of keeping the world’s best player.
MORE: Liverpool fans in tears over this
Although the situation smacks of putting the cart before the horse has bolted, there may be a financial lifeline available to the club.
According to Tuttomercatoweb, Barca have offered Lazio the chance to take Philippe Coutinho on loan for a season, and will even contribute half of his wages.
A deal will still be difficult to do, but not impossible, and it’s a certainty that Laporta and his board will be holding on to every single grain of hope at present.