sport news PETE JENSON: What next for Barcelona after Lionel Messi snubbed a return to ... trends now
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Barcelona's attempt at signing Lionel Messi was the pantomime that distracted from all the other ills at the club and now that he has decided to join Inter Milan the focus swings back to the refereeing scandal; a possible ban from the Champions League; and the club's struggles to bring down its wage bill.
Optimism over Barcelona's capacity to sign Messi spiked just as it became evident that they had paid former referee Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira around £6.2million over a 17-year period from 2001, while he was vice-president of Spanish football's Referees' Committee.
No evidence the money was used to buy referees has been found and the most recent reports in Spain suggest the investigation is now focusing on fraud (where the money ended up) and not on match-fixing. The criminal case in Spain is also likely to drag on for months or even years.
But of more immediate concern to Barcelona is whether or not UEFA refuse to let them play in next season's Champions League.
A decision from Aleksander Ceferin is expected in the next 10 days. The UEFA president must decide whether or not Article 4.02 and 4.03 can be applied excluding Barcelona from European competition for one year because of 'activity aimed at fixing or influencing the outcome of a match at national or international level'.
Lionel Messi has announced his intentions to join MLS side Inter Miami for the 2023-24 season
Barcelona president Joan Laporta has a number of off-pitch issues to tackle in coming weeks
The fact that the investigation in Spain has not taken that direction suggests not but in an interview with Slovenian magazine Ekipa, Ceferin called the accusations levelled at Barcelona 'exceptionally serious' and Barcelona must now wait for his verdict.
What the club really needs is to start signing players but they have the age-old problem of not being able to sell the players they have. The club has signed Inigo Martinez on a free transfer from Athletic Bilbao until 2025 but the left-sided centre-back has it written
