MADRID: Argentina star Lionel Messi on Friday confirmed he is not going anywhere but staying at Barcelona despite stressing he wanted to leave the club on a free transfer.
Messi said he would never want to drag the Catalans to court over the EUR700 million release clause which has led to disagreement between both the parties. In an interview to Goal.com, Messi said he would be staying at Barcelona and his attitude will never change despite his attempt to force an exit after their trophy-less season in 2019-2020.
Messi, last week, sent a burofax to Barcelona, saying he was invoking a contract clause that allowed him to leave for free at the end of the season. However, Barcelona claimed that the clause had expired in June. Barcelona said it wanted Messi to stay until the end of his contract in June 2021.
Messi’s father and agent, Jorge had arrived in Barcelona earlier this week to hold discussions with the top brass. He published a letter to La Liga on Friday dismissing their claim that a EUR700 million release clause in his son’s contract still applied.
La Liga backing
The Spanish league had backed Barcelona on Sunday, saying Messi’s contract was still valid hours after the Argentina star failed to attend a pre-season medical.
“I will continue at Barca and my attitude will not change no matter how much I have wanted to go. I will do my best. I always want to win, I’m competitive and I don’t like to lose anything. I always want the best for the club, for the dressing room and for myself,” Messi said.
Disappointment
Messi’s plans to leave Barcelona, a club he hs been with childhood, triggered intense speculation on his next destination. Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and Inter Milan were seen as possibilities, given their strong finances and their ability to pay Messi’s huge salary.
Several news reports had carried that Messi had signed on with Manchester City, but that proved not to be the case.