The world’s best footballer has made a U turn.
Lionel Messi has decided he will remain at Barcelona to avoid entering a legal dispute with the club where he has been a player for almost two decades.
Messi said on Friday that that he would play till his contract ended at Barcelona in June 2021. In an explosive interview to Goal.com, the Argentine genius attacked Barcelona’s management, including president Josep Maria Bartomeu. “I wasn’t happy and I wanted to leave,” he said.
“I have not been allowed this in any way and I will stay at the club so as not to get into a legal dispute. The management of the club led by Bartomeu is a disaster.” In August, Messi set the sports world alight when he sent a burofax document to Barcelona requesting the invoking of a clause in his contract that suggests he is able to leave on a free transfer in the final year of his deal. The club believes the deadline to trigger this clause had passed on June 10th 2020.
In that eventuality, a team trying to buy Messi would be legally bound to pay a “buyout” fee worth €700m. La Liga, the body that run’s Spain’s top league, has supported the club’s position in the dispute.
Barcelona’s new head coach Ronald Koeman had met Messi and wanted him to be a key part of his plan. Barcelona is today the richest football club on Earth. Its wealth is based on membership fees, sponsorships by various brands and crucially on global merchandise sales, where Messi plays a massive role. In the recent 2018/19 season, the club earned €840.8million.