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Publication date: Friday, September 4, 2020 6:51 AM
Lionel Messi has reversed his decision to leave Barcelona this summer, saying he could never go to court against the club to secure a move.
The Argentine forward had informed the club on August 25 that he wanted to leave this summer and intended to use a clause in his contract that, according to him and his representatives, allowed him to retire with a free transfer.
Messi, who has been with the Catalan club since he was 13, told goal.com: “I am going to continue at the club because the president (Josep Bartomeu) told me that the only way out was to pay the 700 million clause. , that that’s impossible, and then the only other way was to go to court.
“I would never go to the pitch against Barça because it is the club that I love, that gave me everything since I arrived, it is the club of my life, I have made my life here.”
Messi said he had been telling Bartomeu “all year” that he wanted to leave.
“Everything got very difficult for me and there came a time when I considered looking for new goals,” he said.
“I told the president and well, the president always said that at the end of the season I could decide if I wanted to go or if I wanted to stay and in the end he did not keep his word.”
Asked about the reaction to his announcement in some quarters, the 33-year-old added: “It hurt when my love for this club was questioned. No matter where I go or if I stay, my love for Barça will never change. “
That interview with Messi is really extraordinary.
– Sid Lowe (@sidlowe) September 4, 2020
In a new criticism of Bartomeu’s regime, Messi said: “The truth is that there has been no project for a long time, they juggle and cover gaps as things go by.
“I repeat, I wanted to leave and it was all my right, because the contract said they could release me. And it’s not ‘I’m leaving and that’s it’. I was leaving and it was hard for me.
“I will continue at Barça and my attitude will not change no matter how much I have wanted to go. I’ll do my best.
“I always want to win, I am competitive and I don’t like to lose anything. I always want the best for the club, for the dressing room and for myself.
“There is a new coach (Ronald Koeman) and a new idea. That’s fine, but then we have to see how the team responds and if we can compete or not. What I can say is that I’m staying and I’m going to do my best ”.
On Friday Messi’s father and agent, Jorge, had written to LaLiga to explain why he felt his son could leave with a free transfer.
La Liga had supported Barcelona’s position in a statement it issued last Sunday, but Jorge Messi insisted that there was no specific date in the contract on which his son needed to inform the club of his desire to leave, simply that he should do so. at the end of the 2019-20 season.
Barcelona’s season ended when they were eliminated from the Champions League by eventual winners Bayern Munich on August 14.
The tone of Messi’s statement clearly indicates that he would still like to leave the club, but would now do so when his contract ends next summer.
Manchester City, whose coach Pep Guardiola worked with Messi at Barça as a first-team coach between 2008 and 2012, was one of the clubs linked to the forward.
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