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Lionel Messi has maintained that he is in no rush to decide his future despite approaching the end of his contract with Barcelona.
Messi’s contract expires at the end of the season, which means he is free to negotiate a summer change starting in January, prompting constant speculation about a change to the Premier League. But in an interview broadcast by Spanish television channel La Sexta, Messi said he was happy at the Camp Nou and indicated that his long-term future could lie on the other side of the Atlantic.
As reported by the Spanish daily AS, Messi dismissed suggestions to exercise his option for a free transfer in the summer, saying: “Far from it, my plan is to give everything I can for the club at the moment.
“I would like to play in the United States and experience life and the league there, but in the end I will return to Barcelona in some way. I’m not thinking too short-term and I just want to see how the season ends. “
Messi’s commitment is a long way from the summer in which it seemed certain that he would leave after a confrontation with the club’s hierarchy and label the presidency of Josep Maria Bartomeu a “disaster”.
Ultimately, Messi claimed that he decided not to wage a legal battle to leave him out of respect for the club, but reiterated the depth of his feelings about Bartomeu’s reign at the time.
“It wasn’t easy for me to say that I wanted to leave the club and the city … but I really felt it was time to go,” Messi said. “I felt like I had completed a cycle and it was time to leave the club that had given me so much. I wanted to win titles and fight for the Champions League and I felt it was time for a change. Then the president started filtering this and that to paint a negative image of me. “
Bartomeu resigned in October when the extent of the club’s plight became clear and his departure seemed to convince Messi to stay.
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Messi meanwhile praised his former manager Pep Guardiola, and Manchester City have frequently been at the forefront of speculation about the Argentine’s next fate.
When choosing Guardiola along with Spain coach Luis Enrique, Messi said: “His way of preparing for the games was exceptional and his form and the way of working that Luis Enrique worked was also excellent. I was fortunate to work with both men. “
