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Lionel Messi has told Barcelona that he will not attend coronavirus testing on Sunday or preseason training on Monday, sources told ESPN.
Messi formally notified Barça on Tuesday that he intended to leave the club this summer using a clause in his contract that would allow him to leave at the end of the season without his € 700 million release clause being paid if he notified the club within a specific term. time limit.
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While Barça believe that deadline had expired in June, Messi’s legal team argues that the clause remained in effect until this week due to the delay in the end of the campaign.
There is a feeling that attending training before the 2020-21 season could have a legal impact on his claim that he has already unilaterally terminated his contractual relationship with Barça.
Messi has been evaluating the situation with his advisers and informed the club on Saturday afternoon that he would not undergo coronavirus tests alongside his teammates.
Players who participated in Barcelona’s Champions League campaign this month, including their disastrous 8-2 quarter-final loss to Bayern Munich, are due to start working with new coach Ronald Koeman on Monday.
Messi’s refusal to show up for tryouts and training raises the possibility of an uncomfortable and ongoing confrontation between the player and the club.
Messi has yet to speak publicly, although sources have told ESPN that he is expected to do so at some point.
On Thursday, sources told ESPN that Barça president Josep Maria Bartomeu was willing to resign if it meant the player changed his mind.
Messi’s decision to leave, however, is firmly understood, with Manchester City favorites to sign him.
Sources have told ESPN that City are confident Messi will snub any other team’s effort to sign him.
His wish is to end his relationship with Barça in the best possible way, and on Friday he and his lawyers requested a meeting to start talks about his departure.
The club, however, insists that it has a contract until 2021 and the only way to end it is by paying its buyout clause of 700 million euros.
