Getty Lionel Messi street art
Lionel Messi has been handed a fresh blow in his bid to leave Barcelona this summer.
La Liga have responded to the current crisis concerning Messi and Barcelona with a statement confirming that the Argentine is still under contract at the Camp Nou and his release clause is still active.
“In relation to the different interpretations (some of them contradictory to each other) published in recent days in different media, related to the contractual situation of the player Lionel Andres Messi with FC Barcelona, La Liga considers it convenient to clarify that, once the player’s contract with his club:
“The contract is currently in force and has a ‘termination clause’ applicable to the event that Lionel Andres Messi decides to urge the early unilateral termination of the contract of June 26, by which regulates the special employment relationship of professional athletes.
“In compliance with the applicable regulations, and following the corresponding procedure in these cases, La Liga will not carry out the prior visa process for the player to be removed from the federation if they have not previously paid the amount of said clause.”
The statement means that Messi can not leave the club for free and any club wanting to sign the 33-year-old will still need to meet his enormous buyout clause.
La Liga’s statement came in response to a report on Saturday from Spanish radio station Cadena SER that Messi’s €700 million release clause expired at the end of the 2019-20 season and is no longer valid.
The Argentina international subsequently failed to attend PCR testing at the club on Sunday as he believes he has a clause in his contract which means he can leave the club for free. Messi’s absence means he will not be able to join pre-season training at the club which begins on Monday.
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Messi Urged to Return to Newell’s
Messi’s current situation at Barcelona has attracted headlines all over the world as the future of the six-time Ballon d’Or winner remains uncertain. Argentina president Alberto Fernandez has even offered his thoughts on the Barcelona captain during a television interview.
“You’re in all of our hearts and we’ve never been able to watch you play in our country. Gives us the pleasure of coming to finish your career at Newell’s Old Boys, which is your club. If he doesn’t retire at Barcelona, he has to retire at Newell’s like Marcelo Bielsa.”
The forward has spoken previously of wanting to play again for Newell’s before he hangs up his boots and supporters of the club have shown how much they would love to see Messi back.
🚨 Newell’s fans took over the streets of Rosario last night as a demonstration took place to call for the return of Lionel Messi ♥️🖤
A return to Argentina looks unlikely at present with Manchester City still the favorites to land the Argentine. According to Sam Wallace at The Telegraph, senior figures at Barcelona expect Messi to move to Pep Guardiola’s side.
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Lionel Messi Handed Fresh Blow in Bid to Quit Barcelona