Messi completes u-turn and opts for Barcelona stay

 

Lionel Messi has completed a remarkable u-turn on his Barcelona future and decided to see out the remainder of his contract.

 

The 33-year-old has been angling to leave Barcelona for the first time in his career since their 8-2 demolition to Bayern Munich in the Champions League last month.

 

Messi did not turn up the start of pre-season training after no longer considering himself a Barcelona player with a sensational reunion with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City planned.

 

City have been waiting patiently in the background to make their move for the Argentina international, whom believed himself to be a free agent due to a clause in his contract.

 

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu met with Messi's father and agent on Thursday and made it clear they would not allow his departure unless his €700m release clause was met.

 

Messi's camp remain adamant his release clause expired at the end of last season and have even disputed LaLiga's decision to align with the club.

 

Bartomeu even told Messi's father they would offer his son and client a new two-year deal to secure his long-term future.

 

Messi's aim has always been to secure an amicable departure from Barcelona, having spent most of his life at the club, and has reluctantly bowed down and agreed to remain put for now while launching a sensational attack on the club's board.

 

“When I communicated my wish to leave to my wife and children, it was a brutal drama,” Messi told Goal. "The whole family began crying, my children did not want to leave Barcelona, nor did they want to change schools.

 

“When I communicated my wish to leave to my wife and children, it was a brutal drama. The whole family began crying, my children did not want to leave Barcelona, nor did they want to change schools.

 

“I thought and was sure that I was free to leave, the president always said that at the end of the season I could decide if I stayed or not,” he said.

 

“Now they cling to the fact that I did not say it before June 10, when it turns out that on June 10 we were competing for La Liga in the middle of this awful coronavirus and this disease altered all the season.

 

“And this is the reason why I am going to continue in the club. Now I am going to continue in the club because the president told me that the only way to leave was to pay the €700 million (£624m/$823m) clause, and that this is impossible.

 

“There was another way and it was to go to trial," he added. “I would never go to court against Barca because it is the club that I love, which gave me everything since I arrived. It is the club of my life, I have made my life here.

 

“Barca gave me everything and I gave it everything. I know that it never crossed my mind to take Barca to court.”

 

Bartomeu is already considered the worst president in Barcelona history and allowing Messi to leave on a free or even for around €100m would be a disaster against his name.

 

There has also been the threat of prison time put against Bartomeu's name given the huge debts racked up by the club during his time as president.

 

 

Even though Messi remains convinced he can leave for nothing this summer, Bartomeu has threatened to go after the player and his next club.

 

The risk of going to court and potentially huge sums of money lost by Messi and his next employer has forced Messi to change his mind and see out the last 12 months of his contract.

 

Barcelona will hope to convince Messi to sign a new contract before then but with Bartomeu presidency set to end this season it will be the problem of his successor to sort.

 

Messi has finished as the top WhoScored rated player in nine of the past 11 LaLiga campaigns and has remarkably played a direct hand in 545 goals in 342 league matches in that time.