Argentinian star forward Lionel Messi wants to leave Barcelona this summer. Messi notified the club about his decision on Tuesday, with the news later being confirmed by Barca.
Despite Messi’s wishes, Barcelona is reportedly not willing to give up on their star so easily and have responded that they want him to finish his career at Camp Nou.
Messi spent his entire career with Catalan giants, having joined the club’s ranks in 2001 as a 14-year-old player. Since turning pro, he made 731 appearances for La Liga side and is their all-time leader in almost all statistical categories.
Lionel Messi’s decision comes after a troubled season for the club in which they didn’t win any trophies for the first time since 2007/08 and suffered an embarrassing 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in UEFA Champions League. Barcelona already made coaching and front office changes to deal with the crisis, but it appears that Messi doesn’t want to stick around to see the results.
Messi currently has one year left on his deal that contains a $700 million release clause. However, the 33-year-old player is counting on a stipulation in his contract, which enables him to leave Barcelona for free if he notifies the club about his intentions before June.
While the clause already expired, Messi will argue that he should be granted a release due to specific conditions of the 2019/20 season. Barca, on the other hand, won’t oblige as they believe he doesn’t have this option anymore.
So far, there are no credential reports about Messi’s next destination, but Premier League powerhouse Manchester City, coached by his former Barca boss Pep Guardiola, seem like the most likely candidate. City has the financial power to keep Messi as the highest-paid soccer player in the world while also surrounding him with a wealth of talent to support his title ambitions.
