Lionel Messi has told Barcelona he will not report back to the club on Sunday for PCR testing ahead of the start of pre-season with the Catalan giants.
The Barcelona captain informed the club of his decision on Saturday and remains determined to leave the club for free this summer, according to RAC1’s Gerard Romero.
Barcelona’s first team were given some time off after the end of their Champions League campaign but are due back at the Ciutat Esportiva to begin work under new manager Ronald Koeman.
Messi has already told the club he wants to leave and believes he can walk away for free due to a clause in his contract. Barcelona maintain that the clause expired in June and are not interested in selling their captain.
The captain’s decision not to attend pre-season is another blow to Barcelona and is a clear message to the club that the Argentine remains determined to leave.
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Although Messi wants to leave Barcelona he is keen to leave the club on friendly terms and has asked for a meeting to discuss his future. Yet president Josep Maria Bartomeu will only meet with the 33-year-old if it is to discuss a new contract.
Messi’s decision not to return for pre-season puts the ball back in Barcelona’s court, although it remains to be seen how the Catalan giants will respond to the latest instalment of this increasingly tense saga.
Meanwhile, the Barcelona captain continues to be linked with a host of top clubs across Europe. Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter, and Juventus have all been credited with an interest in the forward.
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Messi does still have plenty of support from fans, who have voiced their frustration at the board and shown their love for the captain this week on the streets of Catalonia.
Former Barcelona star Hristo Stoichkov has also hit out at the club’s board for their handling of the current situation when talking to TUDN.
“We’re erasing a myth, we’re giving the best player in Barcelona’s history a kick up the backside. We’re staining his name, his charisma. I’m a member, so that’s why I’m saying we’re staining it.
“This board has ruined everything. It seems as though they want to pit the fans against the players. I won successive league titles, the club’s first European Cup – I don’t know how to repay the love from the fans.
“But this board doesn’t show its face. It pays journalists to add fuel to the flames. As a club, it’s pitiful.”
Messi and Barcelona could be set for a legal battle if the two parties are unable to find an agreement on their future and what could be a sad and painful end to the captain’s career at the Camp Nou.
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Lionel Messi Tells Barcelona He Will Not Return for Pre-Season