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The Argentine superstar submitted her transfer request last week and was hoping she could terminate her contract.
That move has been blocked by Barcelona bosses, who insist the option expired last June, when the end of the 2019/20 season was scheduled before the coronavirus pandemic hit.
Barcelona fans have been protesting outside the Camp Nou to try to keep Messi at the club, but it looks like another bomb has just been dropped.
Spanish radio station SER string They claim that the £ 632 million release clause expired at the end of the 2019/20 campaign and there is no longer a purchase figure in Messi’s contract.
The news will be a major boost for Messi’s potential suitors and their efforts to leave the club before the current transfer window closes.
Even the big spenders like Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain would have trouble meeting a £ 632 million buyout clause and staying within the Financial Fair Play rules.
Messi is not expected to show up for preseason in Barcelona on Sunday and has told the board that he will not return for tests or training.
The 33-year-old is in the last year of his contract with Barcelona and could leave the league for free next summer.
However, Messi is determined to leave now, disillusioned by the management’s efforts to rejuvenate the club’s fortunes.
It is believed that Messi prefers to move to City, where he meets Pep Guardiola.
MORE: Gary Neville believes Lionel Messi will stay at Barcelona despite handing over transfer request
MORE: Lionel Messi, Manchester City and the biggest signing of all time
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