Lionel Messi Decides To Stay At Barcelona
In an unexpected development, Lionel Messi has decided to stay at Barcelona.
The news comes as a relief for Barcelona fans who were on the edge of their seats as to where Messi would end up playing with Manchester City being taunted as his next destination.
Sky Sports reports that Messi has said he will remain at Barcelona next season after performing a shock U-turn on his future.
This follows a statement by Messi’s father and agent Jorge on Friday insisting the player is contractually allowed to leave Barcelona for free in the current transfer window.
Jorge wrote to La Liga stating that the 700-million-euro release clause is removed once the player takes up the option in his contract to leave for free, which Messi’s side believe he did when he notified Barca by burofax on August 25.
La Liga responded with a statement shortly after Messi’s declaration, reiterating its stance that the €700m release clause needs to be paid in full if the 33-year-old is to be allowed to leave the club.
Messi said he decided to stay at Barcelona because he could not take the club to court which was the only way he could have left the club.
He said:
There was another way and it was to go to trial. I would never go to court against Barca because it is the club that I love, which gave me everything since I arrived. It is the club of my life, I have made my life here. Barca gave me everything and I gave it everything. I know that it never crossed my mind to take Barca to court.
Messi said he also decided to stay because of the release clause. He said:
I thought and was sure that I was free to leave, the president always said that at the end of the season I could decide if I stayed or not. Now they cling to the fact that I did not say it before June 10, when it turns out that on June 10 we were competing for La Liga in the middle of this awful coronavirus and this disease altered all the season. And this is the reason why I am going to continue in the club. Now I am going to continue in the club because the president told me that the only way to leave was to pay the €700 million (£624m/$823m) clause, and that this is impossible.
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