Barcelona Transfer News: Lionel Messi, Neymar Futures Threatened by Chelsea, PSG

Barcelona vice-president Javier Faus has described the difficulty of keeping players such as Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez at Barcelona thanks to the spending power of clubs such as Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.

Faus suggested leading English, French and German clubs are making it difficult to hold onto star players, as told to Handelsblatt (via Tom Dutton of the London Evening Standard): "A player always compares himself to the Premier League or the Bundesliga on a net basis. We have to increase our salaries greatly to still be competitive. So yes, we lose players just for the money."

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As noted by Dutton, Faus made a point of suggesting hefty tax costs in Catalonia ensure the Blaugrana's wage bill is "extremely high."

He names Chelsea and PSG—clubs that have received massive cash injections from new owners—as clubs that can tempt players with enticing financial rewards. When asked how difficult increased competitiveness makes keeping players such as Messi and Neymar, Faus provided an honest response:

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It is challenging, but we will keep them. We have to adapt to the new market circumstances at the Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea. We cannot just stand by. The players have a very short career and it is their right to get what the other clubs could pay them. We can not say: Stay here, for half the salary.

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Interestingly, Faus indicates some major sides are "circumnavigating" UEFA's financial fair play rules. Dutton's article doesn't provide a further explanation, but it's possible he could be referring to Manchester City, who may have exposed a potential loophole when appearing to sign Frank Lampard on loan from sister club New York City FC.

Upon learning Lampard actually joined on a permanent deal, Ben Rumsby of the Telegraph explained a complicated situation that may have eased City's finances:

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Under Uefa’s rules, there is nothing to stop the club signing a player on a free transfer and selling him on to New York City or any other team owned by City Football Group when the transfer window reopens.

City would then be able to use the funds to help balance their books, without the deal having cost their parent company a penny.

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Messi, Barca's iconic superstar, was reported to have signed a £16.3 million per year contract in 2014. According to BBC Sport, Manchester United's Wayne Rooney currently enjoys a £15.6 million deal despite the players being far apart in terms of overall quality.

United, like Chelsea and PSG, have the capability to drop massive weekly wages on players who aren't necessarily worth the cost, highlighted by Radamel Falcao's £260,000-per-week earnings, reported by BBC Sport.

For all of Faus' fears, however, La Liga continues to lure Premier League and Bundesliga stars on huge deals. In recent years, Barcelona have signed Suarez and Gerard Pique from Liverpool and Manchester United respectively. Away from the Catalonia tax costs, Real Madrid have added Gareth Bale and Toni Kroos from the divisions mentioned by Faus.

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While it's true teams such as Chelsea and PSG can offer great financial rewards, UEFA's FFP guidelines are ostensibly designed to produce something of a level playing field.

The European governing body cannot interfere with local tax procedures, however, so Barca may always struggle. It's perhaps frustrating to consider AS Monaco have enjoyed tax breaks over the years.

Barca, led by Messi, Neymar and Suarez, remain on course for an extremely successful season. Spending heavily in the right areas has been key to the side's success and could yield La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League trophies at the end of the campaign.