With the decision to stay at Barcelona instead of fighting the club in the courts, Messi has essentially set a countdown clock until his current contract expires. And when he leaves this time, it will be permanent, and Barcelona will be the biggest loser in the long run.

Some have gone so far as to suspect that Messi was also well aware that he was never going to actually sign with Barcelona and that perhaps he wanted to move on from the club ahead of the rebuilding project that's facing the organization.

"Despite FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi having reached an agreement and the clear intention of both parties to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of Spanish LaLiga regulations on player registration," Barcelona's statement read. "As a result of this situation, Messi shall not be staying on at FC Barcelona.

MORE: Lionel Messi officially joins PSG Barcelona’s statement said, in no uncertain terms, that the club and player wanted to do a deal — reports in recent weeks stated that Messi, who became a free agent on June 30, was prepared to take a 50 percent reduction in salary to make it happen — but league regulations made it an impossibility.