Messi did not inform Barcelona of his desire to leave
Lionel Messi. A.F.B.
A source in Barcelona club confirmed that the Argentine star, Lionel Messi, did not inform the management of his desire to leave, contrary to what is circulated in the media after the humiliating exit from the Champions League quarter-finals at the hands of Bayern Munich (2-8).
According to the source, Messi, who has a contract with the Catalan club until 2021, did not express to the management his desire to leave. 2017, that the best player in the world decided to "leave the club now, not in 2021."
In a video posted on social media, "Esporte Interativo" said that "the Argentine is closer than ever to leaving," adding that "management is aware" of the Argentine star's desire.
And since the historic loss to Bayern Munich on Friday, the Spanish media have questioned the possibility of Messi staying with the Catalan team, which is going to abandon its coach Quique Setien, and to announce perhaps the advance of his presidential elections scheduled for the summer of 2021.
The 33-year-old did not hide his displeasure at the situation the team reached after relinquishing its Spanish League title to Real Madrid by losing in the penultimate stage at home against Osasuna, questioning the club’s project led by current president Josep Maria Bartomeu without mentioning the latter explicitly.
Messi can leave Barcelona as a free player by reaching the end of his current contract in the summer of 2021, but if any team wants to sign him this summer, he must pay the value of the fictional penalty clause in his contract, which amounts to 700 million euros.
Messi became the absolute star of the team, scoring 634 goals in 731 official matches, winning 34 titles, four of them in the Champions League in 2006, 2009, 2011 and 2015.