Messi has less than six months left on his Barcelona contract and could leave for free at the end of the season.
The six-time Ballon d’or winner unsuccessfully tried to force his way out of the club in August, citing a clause in his contract that could have allowed him to leave for free but Barcelona stood firm and held onto their most prized asset.
Barcelona are currently embroiled in serious financial difficulties as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and Rivaldo is of the opinion that Messi should have been sold to alleviate some of the problem.
"Barcelona were not in good financial health pre-pandemic, but things got nasty in the last year and beyond Lionel Messi's almost inevitable departure, the club may need to sell some more important players to generate income,” Rivaldo wrote in his Betfair column.
"As I mentioned previously, the club's board made a mistake by not selling Lionel Messi while he was still under contract, something Real Madrid did with Cristiano Ronaldo receiving around €100million in exchange [from transfer to Juventus].
"It's sad to see such a talented and valuable player leaving Barca for free when the club is going through so many financial problems.
"But looking to potential transfers that might occur, I think Phillipe Coutinho time may have be coming to an end. He has admirers in England and perhaps Barcelona could generate some good income with his sale, allowing them to keep others like Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann.
"The Brazilian never managed to show his best football in Spain, and since his better moments happened in Premier League I'm sure there will be clubs interested in his services and available to pay considerable amounts, although not quite what Barcelona paid to Liverpool!"
