Celebrated
footballers’ contract with Barcelona ends in June next year
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Madrid(Agencies):Barcelona
is unwavering in its intention to keep Lionel Messi, who told the club earlier
this week that he wanted to leave.
Spanish media say Messi has
contacted the club to try to resolve the situation, but Barcelona confirmed to
the Associated Press on Saturday that it will not negotiate to allow the
Argentina great to depart before his contract ends next year.
Earlier this week, Messi said
he wanted to invoke a contract clause that allowed him to leave at the end of
last season, but the club said the clause had already expired.
A lengthy legal battle may
ensue as the 33-year-old forward is expected to say the clause was valid until
the end of the season, which was pushed back because of the coronavirus
pandemic.
Barcelona is not willing to
give up on the player, especially not for free. Messi's contract, which ends in
June 2021, has a buyout clause of 700 million euros ($831 million). He has been
with the club for nearly two decades, leading it to more than three-dozen
titles and holding most of its individual records.
Spanish media said Messi and
his team contacted the club late this week to try to discuss his situation. He
had announced his intention to leave by sending the club a burofax, a certified
document similar to a telegram.
Barcelona president Josep
Bartomeu reportedly tried to meet with the player after his decision to leave
was announced. He later said he was willing to resign if that was what it took
to get Messi to stay, and if the six-times Ballon D'Or winner admitted the
president's presence at the club was the reason he wanted to leave.
Messi reportedly talked to new
coach Ronald Koeman before making his decision to leave.
Messi hasn't spoken publicly
since the embarrassing 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the
Champions League on August 14, one of the worst defeats in the player's career
and in the club's history.
He was outspoken against some
of the club's decisions this season, the first without a title since 2007-08.
Spanish radio station SER said
on Saturday that Barcelona was ending its contract with its current law firm
because it also worked for Messi.
The players are expected to
return from their break on Sunday to undergo coronavirus testing. Training is
scheduled to resume on Monday ahead of the start of the Spanish league season
on the second weekend of September.
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