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Lionel Messi has announced that he will stay at Barcelona next season
Everyone here in Barcelona is shocked.
If you looked at an article online or heard a television or radio report from earlier this week, you would not have found anyone who told you that Lionel Messi was going to stay at Barcelona.
But here we are. Ten days after he shocked the football world and informed Barcelona that he wanted to activate the release clause in his contract, Messi decided that he will remain with the club he has called home for almost 20 years.
Initially, some people may have thought that Messi was trying to achieve political change by spitting his mannequin and kicking his feet. He has done it with Argentina before, after all. But earlier this week everyone was saying, ‘No, this time he means it.’
They told us that he no longer considered himself a Barcelona player, he had spoken with Pep Guardiola, he wanted to go to Manchester City, he thinks he is right about the clause of his contract …
Then, even on Friday at lunchtime, his people issued a letter in which they said to La Liga: ‘You are wrong, we are right, we are sure that we will win this legal battle.’
1:01 Sky Sports News chief reporter Bryan Swanson offers a timeline of events that began with Messi wanting to leave Barcelona before deciding to stay at the Spanish club 10 days later.
But then for some reason, two hours later, they decided not to go to the pitch and Messi would stay at the club.
We were proven wrong, but I think he even proved wrong. I don’t think Messi realized that he couldn’t go through with it.
Barça fans sad for the treatment of Messi
While the media are shocked, curiously there is a feeling of sadness among some Barcelona fans.
I was listening to a radio phone last night with Axel, the local cameraman and a huge Barcelona fan, who was translating it for me, and most of the callers were sad. They said it was a sad day.
3:14 Sky Sports News reporter Gary Cotterill takes a look at some of Spain’s biggest newspapers as they react to Messi’s decision to stay in Barcelona.
They didn’t like the way they had treated Messi. They said that if he wanted to leave and felt that way, he had a right, after all the service he had rendered the club. They felt that he is now staying against their wishes, it is a sad turn of events rather than something to celebrate.
They will obviously cheer you on their television screens when you return to the pitch in your Barcelona jersey for the first time, and by no means are they going to give you a hard time, that’s for sure. But they feel that if he wants to go, he should let him.
Back to training
What happens now?
Well, in the short term, Messi will have his coronavirus test, probably on Saturday, and then after the players have had their day off on Sunday, he will return to training in Barcelona on Monday. And definitely have an awkward hello with Ronald Koeman!
Messi will return to training in Barcelona on Monday
Will Koeman keep Messi as captain? Of course, he will still be ‘captain’ in terms of being a senior player and the talisman, but I’m not sure if he will have the bracelet after being on strike for the past week.
Barcelona have a couple of friendlies lined up, but it is unlikely that he will be ready for them after missing training. But we could see him back in Barça’s colors for his first La Liga game against Villarreal. Due to his participation in the Champions League, that has been delayed and takes place in three weeks.
But its long-term future remains unclear.
Could Messi extend his contract with Barcelona?
By contract, you can leave with a free transfer next summer and talk to other clubs in January.
Could Barcelona beat him the round to extend his contract before that date? Koeman is not going to win it. And the current president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, is certainly not going to win it, he made it clear in his interview.
But there are a few options that could see you stick around beyond next summer.
1:19 Sky Sports News reporter Gary Cotterill assesses Messi’s next steps after he decided to stay in Barcelona despite wanting to leave this summer.
The presidential elections in Barcelona are in March and Víctor Font is the favorite at the moment. He says the first thing he will do is fire Koeman and bring in Xavi as head coach. Xavi is a great companion of Messi.
Messi also mentions in this interview that it has been made known that the club has no project and wants to see some of the best guys in the academy come in and give them a chance, instead of spending money on these average players, that the club has been doing over the years. Font has said that he will work with Messi to do that.
So if Font enters and Xavi accompanies him, Messi could decide that he is happy to stay.
The other thing is, I think it’s been quite a sobering experience for him. The point he made in that interview was about how his family was upset, his children were crying, and they didn’t want to change schools.
Come next summer, when I’m 34 in June, another year, another wiser year, you might think, ‘my family made it pretty clear the last time they didn’t want me to go. So will you feel different when you have the opportunity to leave for nothing? She could almost convince herself to stay.
Barcelona’s presidential candidate, Víctor Font, is the favorite to win the March elections, and could make the changes Messi wants to see
There is also the question mark around Joan Laporta. He was president of Barcelona when they reached their peak. There are only three presidential candidates at the moment, with Font as the favorite, but everyone thinks Laporta is hovering in the background, ready to throw his hat in the ring.
If he stands up, he has a good chance of winning, and his ticket would be to bring Pep Guardiola back. Guardiola is out of contract at Manchester City at the end of next season. So that could be another reason why Messi could stay: because he will achieve his reunion with Pep without having to go anywhere.
Economically, Barcelona needs money. They have other players that they are happy to let go of and great salaries that they are happy to get from the salary bill: the untouchables, the holy cows, as they call them. The Albas, the Busquests, the Piques. They are all on the market and all available if the right offer arrives. They still have Philippe Coutinho, too, who is back in training. There will be a clearance sale over the next month to get money, to reduce wages from the wage bill. But they decided that they couldn’t afford to let Messi go.
The fans no longer gather outside the stadium or protest at the clubhouse. Things are back to normal, for now. But Messi’s long-term future is far from certain.
Tuesday August 25 – Messi sends Barcelona an official document in which he informs the club of his desire to leave and activates the ‘get-out’ clause in his contract that would make him leave for free.
Wednesday 26 August – Barcelona sports director Ramon Planes says the club “aims to build the team around Messi” and wants him to stay.
Friday August 28 – Messi requests a personal meeting with the Barça hierarchy and his lawyers to discuss a solution to his transfer request. He is seen leaving a restaurant in Barcelona after having dinner with a close friend Luis Suárez, also on his way out of the club.
Sunday August 30 – Messi does not appear for Barcelona’s pre-season coronavirus tests. La Liga issued a statement backing Barcelona’s stance on the dispute over his contract, stating that he will only leave if his € 700 million release clause is paid in full.
Monday August 31 – Messi does not show up for Barcelona’s first training session with the new boss Ronald Koeman.
Wednesday, September 2 – Messi’s father and agent, Jorge, flies to Barcelona from Rosario in Argentina for crucial conversations with Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu and the board. He says it is “difficult” for his son to stay at the club.
Thursday September 3 – The talks between Jorge Messi and Bartomeu continue on a second day.
Friday September 4 – Messi’s father insists that the 700 million euro release clause “is not applicable at all” and publishes a statement opposing La Liga’s verdict on the situation.
Friday September 4 Messi confirms that he will remain at Barcelona next season after talks with Bartomeu.
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