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Lionel Messi will remain at Barcelona next season
Lionel Messi says he will remain at Barcelona next season after turning his future 180 degrees.
Messi had believed that a clause in his contract would allow him to leave this transfer window free, but Barcelona and La Liga insist that his release clause of 700 million euros should be paid in full.
“I thought and we were sure that he would be a free agent,” Messi told Goal.
“The president always told me that I could decide to stay or go at the end of the season and now they hold on to the fact that he hadn’t said anything until June 10, when it turns out that on June 10 the League season was still ongoing and we were in the midst of this virus and this disease that altered the entire match schedule.
“And that is the reason why I am staying at the club. Now I am staying because the president told me that the only way to leave was by paying the release clause of 700 million euros, which is impossible.”
Messi’s father and agent, Jorge, wrote to La Liga on Friday insisting that his son is contractually allowed to leave Barcelona for free in the current transfer window.
However, La Liga responded with a statement shortly after Messi’s statement, reiterating its stance that the € 700 million release clause remains valid.
Messi assures that he has never considered taking the matter to trial to force an exit from the club where he has spent his entire professional career.
“I would never take Barça to court because it is the club that I love and that has given me everything since I joined,” added Messi.
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.
“It is the club of my life, I am settled here, Barça has given me everything and I have given them everything. The idea of taking Barça to trial did not cross my mind.”
Messi had informed the club of his wish to leave via an official note last week, and did not show up for the team’s first five days of preseason training with new boss Ronald Koeman.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner says he wants to leave Barcelona to compete at the highest level after a disappointing season, which culminated in an 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
3:51 Kaveh Solhekol and Dharmesh Sheth explain why Lionel Messi has decided to stay at Barcelona despite telling the club he wanted to leave
“It was a huge drama when I told my wife and children. The whole family was crying, my children did not want to leave Barcelona or have to change schools,” added Messi.
“I looked at the big picture and I want to compete at the top of the game, winning trophies and fighting to win the Champions League.
“They may end up winning or not, because it is a very tough competition, but they must give themselves the opportunity to fight.
“You have to be at least in the mix and what we can’t have is what happened against Roma and Liverpool and in Lisbon.”
1:33 Spanish soccer journalist Álvaro Montero compares Lionel Messi’s decision to stay at Barcelona next season with Michael Jordan’s ‘Last Dance’ at the Chicago Bulls
Messi insists that he will continue giving everything next season despite seeking to get away from the Camp Nou.
“I’m going to stay at Barça and there won’t be any change in my attitude, regardless of whether I wanted to leave. I’m going to give everything,” he said.
“I always want to win, I am competitive and I never like to lose at anything. I always want the best for the club, the dressing room and myself.
“I said we weren’t good enough to win the Champions League. I really don’t know how things are going to turn out now.
“We have a new coach and there are new ideas. That is positive, but we will have to see how the team responds and if we have what it takes to compete or not. The only thing I can say for sure is that I will stay and I will give it my all.” .
‘Awkward truce’
Dharmesh Sheth of Sky Sports News: “It seems to me one of the most uncomfortable truces that could be reached. I do not think that either party can claim victory. The courts would have been the only way to overcome this, but Messi did not want to go to the pitch with the club of their life’.
“A court case would never have concluded before the transfer window closed, so we would have ended up in the position we are in now: no movement for Messi and no money for Barcelona. In an ideal situation, Messi would want to leave In an ideal In this situation, Barcelona would have wanted 700 million euros or a substantial transfer fee. Neither Messi nor Barcelona have what they want. “
‘Koeman will have an unhappy Messi’
Gary Cotterill from Sky Sports News in Barcelona: “This is bad news for Manchester City and their fans. Messi did everything possible to get the club to accept his release, but he stays.”
“President Bartomeu and the Barça board made it clear in Messi’s camp, mainly his father, that they would try hard and would not let him go for free this year.
“It is a surprising position because Barça has a big black hole in their finances; letting Messi go for free would have been incredible, but without a doubt they would have taken out his huge salary. But Messi, despite all the problems between the two matches, stays.
“Ronald Koeman is going to have a very unhappy player on his hands, I would have thought so. Messi has promised to do everything he can for the club and the fans he loves, but it will be interesting to see how he performs with a head coach who did not.” . he wants and a president with whom he does not get along. “
1:24 Montero believes that Lionel Messi could extend his stay at Barcelona beyond next season if the president of the Spanish club, Josep Maria Bartomeu, leaves
‘Messi could extend the stay if Bartomeu leaves’
Spanish soccer journalist Álvaro Montero believes Messi could extend his stay at Barcelona beyond next season if the club’s president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, leaves.
“The first moment he scores a goal and plays the best he can, I think the Barcelona fans could forgive him,” Montero said. Sky Sports News.
“If you ask Barcelona fans about Lionel Messi and Josep Maria Bartomeu, I would say that 95 percent would be with Messi and not with Bartomeu and his board members.
“I think it will be easier for Messi to stay if Bartomeu is out. That relationship is impossible to fix, so if Bartomeu leaves after the elections and there is a new president, the possibility could increase.”
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