Lionel Andres Messi has decided he will remain at Spanish club Barcelona next season after a failed attempt to trigger a reported clause in his contract, which would have allowed him to leave for free at the end of every season.
Messi performed a shock U-Turn after Barcelona and La Liga insisted that his €700m release clause would need to be paid in full for him to leave the club this transfer window.
“I thought and we were sure that I’d be a free agent,” Messi tells Goal.
“The president always told me that I could decide to stay or go at the end of the season and they’re now clinging to the fact that I hadn’t said anything by June 10, when it turns out that on June 10 the La Liga season was still ongoing and we were in the midst of this virus and this illness that altered the whole fixture calendar.
“And that’s the reason why I’m staying on at the club. I’m now staying because the president told me that the only way I could leave was by paying the €700m release clause, which is impossible.”
Watch Messi’s exclusive interview below…
Messi’s father and agent Jorge wrote to La Liga on Friday insisting his son is contractually allowed to leave Barcelona for free in the current transfer window.
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However, La Liga responded with a statement shortly after Messi’s declaration, stating that the €700m release clause remains valid.
Messi says his love and loyalty to the club made him not consider taking the matter to trial in order to force an exit from the club where he has spent the entirety of his professional career.
“I’d never take Barca to trial because it’s the club I love and that’s given me everything since I joined,” adds Messi.
“It’s the club of my life, I’m settled here, Barca have given me everything and I’ve given them everything. The idea of taking Barca to trial never crossed my mind.”
Messi sent an official note last week informing the club of his desire to leave and did not turn up for the team’s first five days of pre-season training under 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 ended in an 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
“It was a massive drama when I told my wife and my sons. The whole family was in tears, my sons didn’t want to leave Barcelona or have to change schools,” reveals Messi.
“I looked at the bigger picture and I want to be competing at the very top of the game, winning trophies and fighting to win the Champions League.
“You can end up winning it or not because it’s a really tough competition, but you’ve got to give yourselves a fighting chance.
“You’ve got to at least be in the mix and what we can’t be having is what happened against Roma and Liverpool and in Lisbon.”
Messi assures everyone including fans of Barcelona that he will continue to give his best next season despite his attempt to a move away from the Nou Camp.
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