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Barcelona ‘resigned themselves to losing Lionel Messi to Manchester City next summer for FREE with the Premier League giants still favorites to sign the superstar to a sensational contract and reunite him with Pep Guardiola’
- Lionel Messi could not leave Barcelona this summer after a raid
- Manchester City were favorites to sign the icon before he was forced to stay
- It is ensured that Barcelona is resigned to losing Messi at the end of the year
- The Mirror reported that Barcelona expect Messi to finally move to Etihad
Barcelona are hoping the talisman Lionel Messi will leave the club and join Manchester City next summer, according to reports.
The 33-year-old came close to resigning in the recent window after becoming disillusioned with Barcelona’s stuttering form and controversial leadership, but was prevented from walking away due to the prospect of a court battle.
However, The Mirror has now claimed that the Nou Camp outfit is prepared to finally let their icon go at the end of this season.
Barcelona hope Lionel Messi will finally leave the club and join Manchester City next summer
It is understood that Messi informed Barcelona in no uncertain terms that his wish was to meet Pep Guardiola in England.
It took a thorough conversation with Ronald Koeman to convince him to promise his future to his childhood team for one more year despite the sensational and damaging consequences of his transfer request.
Josep Bartomeu, the criticized Barcelona president, had refused to accept that Messi could walk away with a free transfer after the club’s humiliating finale last season.
Messi’s transfer request was rejected by Barcelona and the superstar was forced to stay
Under-Fire club president Josep Bartomeu insisted that clubs had to comply with a £ 630 million release clause.
Messi and his representatives highlighted a specific break clause in his contract, which they believed would allow him to map his path to the Premier League.
But Bartomeu stood his ground, and the club boss insisted that the 630 million pound release clause of the six-time Ballon d’Or winner would have to be honored in full by potential suitors.
The looming threat of a nasty legal case with Barcelona turned out to be the only factor why Messi stayed in Catalonia against his wishes.
A report by The Mirror states that Ronald Koeman is convinced that Messi will move to England
City appeared in pole position to complete the sensational blow had Messi been able to leave.
Its COO, Omar Berrarda, recently admitted that the Etihad giants will be ready to move again next summer.
He told the Manchester Evening News: ‘He is the best player in the world, he is the best player of his generation. I think any club in the world would like to explore the possibility of him joining their team.
Boss Pep Guardiola will be delighted with the possibility of reuniting with Messi at the Etihad
‘It’s probably an exception to the possible investments that we would make … but our planning has been done with this current team and is being considered with the current opportunities that we have.
“For each position we have to be prepared because many things can happen but, at the same time, I believe that we have the financial strength and the capacity of the system to make that investment when necessary.”
Messi will be able to start negotiating deals with other clubs from January, and his contract will run out at the end of the campaign.
