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Move over Marc Boseman there will be a new player power movement coming through in the coming month.
How can Barcalona possiablly win this case of €700 clause?
1 - Messi wont play for Barca again
2 - They can fine him 100K everyday, still less then the Million he recieves a week.
3 - There is an clause in the contract, that says "Can leave the club on a free upto 14 days after the champions league final"
4 - Messi has given best part of 20yrs of service to the club, and most probably the best part of his footballing life!
5 - Messi has won 26 Tropheys in that time
the 700 million euro clause is a stupid one, the clause is in the contract, he asked to leave within that timeframe, ok it is August, but the year was delayed due to Covid-19.
They cant afford to let him rot, as it is still costing 300K a week, they aren't going to sell Messi mercandize with him wanting out...............They will then have a high profile courtcase to A) deal with as a distraction & B) cost a pretty penny.
A court aren't going to rule in captivity of a human, espcially with the clause that hangs over this.
Gurantee that come Weds, he will be allowed to leave for 100M if Man City stump that up.
Messi Will be In Manchester by the weekend.
How can Barcalona possiablly win this case of €700 clause?
1 - Messi wont play for Barca again
2 - They can fine him 100K everyday, still less then the Million he recieves a week.
3 - There is an clause in the contract, that says "Can leave the club on a free upto 14 days after the champions league final"
4 - Messi has given best part of 20yrs of service to the club, and most probably the best part of his footballing life!
5 - Messi has won 26 Tropheys in that time
the 700 million euro clause is a stupid one, the clause is in the contract, he asked to leave within that timeframe, ok it is August, but the year was delayed due to Covid-19.
They cant afford to let him rot, as it is still costing 300K a week, they aren't going to sell Messi mercandize with him wanting out...............They will then have a high profile courtcase to A) deal with as a distraction & B) cost a pretty penny.
A court aren't going to rule in captivity of a human, espcially with the clause that hangs over this.
Gurantee that come Weds, he will be allowed to leave for 100M if Man City stump that up.
Messi Will be In Manchester by the weekend.
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One for the lawyers to feast on.
Suppose it will come down to how much he wants to leave and what he is prepared to do to get his own way.
Suppose it will come down to how much he wants to leave and what he is prepared to do to get his own way.
How do you know the wording of a clause you have never seen?
Why do you think La Liga have sided with Barca if the clause is as clear cut as you say it is? Because it isn't.
Why would Messi leave for 100m this summer when he can take the 100m for himself next summer?
Just as likely he still wants to finish his contract with Barca, force a change in the hierarchy in the meantime and see what shape they are in in a year. I doubt he wants to win the CL with any club more than Barca.
A court would likely side with Barca, unless the clause says what you say it says, but that doesn't appear to be the case, Messi's side have already made reference to the 'spirit' of the clause, which they wouldn't need to do if it were as clear cut as you say. It more than likely refers to a specific date in June, which is why La Liga have made a definitive ruling. They wouldn't get involved and risk being sued for hundreds of millions if it was clearly in Messi's favour. It obviously isn't.
Why do you think La Liga have sided with Barca if the clause is as clear cut as you say it is? Because it isn't.
Why would Messi leave for 100m this summer when he can take the 100m for himself next summer?
Just as likely he still wants to finish his contract with Barca, force a change in the hierarchy in the meantime and see what shape they are in in a year. I doubt he wants to win the CL with any club more than Barca.
A court would likely side with Barca, unless the clause says what you say it says, but that doesn't appear to be the case, Messi's side have already made reference to the 'spirit' of the clause, which they wouldn't need to do if it were as clear cut as you say. It more than likely refers to a specific date in June, which is why La Liga have made a definitive ruling. They wouldn't get involved and risk being sued for hundreds of millions if it was clearly in Messi's favour. It obviously isn't.
Why do you think that La Liga haven't read the contract ?
I have just seen him on the Metro heading into Newcastle and he had a single ticket not a return .Though he might have to settle for the bench now that big Andy has hit a bit of form .
Problem for Messi is ending up in court doesn't remotely benefit him as no way it resolves this summer through a court and likely damages his brand as a player.
He's now been spotted on the X24 bus from Newcastle to Sunderland 
Angoose
That bus passes through Gateshead ,Bruce told him to prove himself with the Heed then come back next season .
That bus passes through Gateshead ,Bruce told him to prove himself with the Heed then come back next season .
No way it will end up in court. Barca will either agree a fee or he will stay. But this assumes he wants to leave this Summer, which I doubt. He is not going to want to leave Barca like that and not say goodbye to the fans properly and there are literally hundreds of millions of reasons to wait a year.
The papers are talking it up when they can't know much because any details are evidence of tapping-up and this is as high profile as you can get. The markets already have this priced in as being more than 50% likely he'll be playing for City next year. City have gone from odds against to 1.75 for the league since he sent his Burofax and he's odds on to join them. Everyone else is now big value for the PL.
Why would you negotiate a windfall annual break clause which basically allows you to trouser hundreds of millions and leave Barca for free at the end of any season and then give all of that up and leave for a fee?
Nothing about him leaving this Summer makes any sense. Unless he wants to give Barca the windfall he negotiated with them and they want to take it. Doesn't even make sense for a club to pay a fee for him when they can get him cheaper and without any hostility or as many FFP issues next Summer.
The papers are talking it up when they can't know much because any details are evidence of tapping-up and this is as high profile as you can get. The markets already have this priced in as being more than 50% likely he'll be playing for City next year. City have gone from odds against to 1.75 for the league since he sent his Burofax and he's odds on to join them. Everyone else is now big value for the PL.
Why would you negotiate a windfall annual break clause which basically allows you to trouser hundreds of millions and leave Barca for free at the end of any season and then give all of that up and leave for a fee?
Nothing about him leaving this Summer makes any sense. Unless he wants to give Barca the windfall he negotiated with them and they want to take it. Doesn't even make sense for a club to pay a fee for him when they can get him cheaper and without any hostility or as many FFP issues next Summer.
And they will have from January to put together a deal and negotiate freely with him, which is prob what you need as you'll need to get sponsors and kit manufacturers onside for a deal like that and comply with FFP. That all takes time.
Surely if any club were even daft enough to pay the release clause then surely that club will have immediately fell foul of the Financial Fair Play rules?
Amortize the fee over a long period, put him on a twenty year contract 
In any case, FFP has been blown out of the water.
In any case, FFP has been blown out of the water.
Messi has hundreds of millions already, he's 33, people seeing this from a poor fans perspective, he wants one last crack at Europe and probably doesn't even rate his chances of winning La Liga next season, there's also Pep and his best friend in football, Aguero, at Man City, both of them could be going into their last season at the club, it all seems perfect timing for him, he'd be getting huge sums of money from City anyway which would obv offset some losses he may make. Can always go back for a testimonial and tbh, who's to say the same thing wont happen next year, battered in the Champions League again.
As I have written previously, IMVHO, it does not make financial sense in anyway shape or form for any club to 'buy' Messi given the exorbitant transfer fee and wages that will be required, and the need to find a way around FFP rules.
But as we all know, money is not an issue for City or PSG, the only clubs than can potentially afford Messi.
In a footballing sense, it would be fantastic for City with them undoubtedly winning the PL for as long as he stayed. Though I am sure their defensive frailties would still trip them up in the CL.
This would be a very sad state of affairs though, as a clearer case of buying the PL with pumped in oil money could not be made.............
But as we all know, money is not an issue for City or PSG, the only clubs than can potentially afford Messi.
In a footballing sense, it would be fantastic for City with them undoubtedly winning the PL for as long as he stayed. Though I am sure their defensive frailties would still trip them up in the CL.
This would be a very sad state of affairs though, as a clearer case of buying the PL with pumped in oil money could not be made.............
He's just gone 33, it's not his last chance at the CL. He'll still have a chance at a last crack in a year.
People looking at it like it's simply his decision to leave and that he actually wants to leave, when there's a good chance neither is the case. He'd be cutting off his nose to spite his face going this summer. It seems it was Koeman who triggered it all, not so much the 8-2, and he reacted to that.
If he was as desperate to win the CL then he'd have exercised his clause after Roma or Liverpool or in June of this year but he didn't. He must have known that exercising it in August wouldn't be valid. Quite likely his agenda is not to leave this summer at all.
People looking at it like it's simply his decision to leave and that he actually wants to leave, when there's a good chance neither is the case. He'd be cutting off his nose to spite his face going this summer. It seems it was Koeman who triggered it all, not so much the 8-2, and he reacted to that.
If he was as desperate to win the CL then he'd have exercised his clause after Roma or Liverpool or in June of this year but he didn't. He must have known that exercising it in August wouldn't be valid. Quite likely his agenda is not to leave this summer at all.
Very sensible post lurka.
Surely the reason Messi did not try to enact the clause in June was that he did not want to appear dis-loyal to Barca and the Catalan fans? At that point in time, they were still strong favourites to win la Liga, with a still decent chance in the CL.
It is only after everything went t!ts up that he tried to exercise the clause. And FWIW, I also think Messi is using this for greater influence and leverage at Barca. IMVHO he does not want to leave that club, where he might tarnish his status as a true hero and legend.
Surely the reason Messi did not try to enact the clause in June was that he did not want to appear dis-loyal to Barca and the Catalan fans? At that point in time, they were still strong favourites to win la Liga, with a still decent chance in the CL.
It is only after everything went t!ts up that he tried to exercise the clause. And FWIW, I also think Messi is using this for greater influence and leverage at Barca. IMVHO he does not want to leave that club, where he might tarnish his status as a true hero and legend.
What have Barcelona done this season or in the transfer market thus far that suggest they'd have a hope in Europe next season? that's not a crack that's just being there, with Man City they stand a greater chance, although they were beat by Lyon they have a team still not past it's peak and doesn't lose 3 goal leads in the knock outs the way Barca have v Roma and Liverpool before the Bayern hammering, this has been a long time coming and you wouldn't drop Barca like a stone then you'd give them a chance to rebuild, change managers even, done that now, can't even be inspired the new manager Koeman who's been around the block but not really done much of note. The lure of Pep and Aguero seems strong enough to me, anyone that saw his pitch side interview I think in the last match of La Liga this season saw utter dejection, basically saying his teammates werent good enough. Because of the wranglings over the contract he may not leave as I don't know exactly what is written in it and La Liga of course do not want to lose their cash cow, but if he really wants to Barca would be stupid to say no because he just wont be the same, the president has already said he'd resign if Messi stayed and nothings changed, he doesn't care about the presidency anymore.
La Liga are in trouble anyway, they've moved El Classico's in recent times to suit foreign markets even to midday, now there's no more Ronaldo v Messi it's not quite the same. Though probably still the biggest match in the world, don't know what viewing figures say though, think Man United v Liverpool up there as well.
La Liga are in trouble anyway, they've moved El Classico's in recent times to suit foreign markets even to midday, now there's no more Ronaldo v Messi it's not quite the same. Though probably still the biggest match in the world, don't know what viewing figures say though, think Man United v Liverpool up there as well.
There sure is a lot to ponder DDS. Messi staying at Barca or potentially moving to City or PSG would not surprise me.
The Catalan giants' shock defeat alongside Real Madrid's victory of the same scoreline over Villarreal sealed 'Los Blancos' 34th La Liga title.
Following the game, Messi spoke to Spanish media and he emotionally admitted the club aren't where they want to be right now.
The 33-year-old stated per Daily Mail: "This game represents the entire year. We have been an erratic and weak team.
"Madrid did its part by winning all its matches, which is impressive, but we also helped them to win this league. We have to be critical of how we have played, starting with the players, and the rest of the club.
"We have lost because of our mistakes and not because of Madrid's successes, as many say.
"The feeling on this team is that it tries, but that it cannot get the job done. Today in the first half they were better than we were and it seems we have to fall behind to react like we tried to do in the second half."
"We are going to have to change a lot if we want to do something..."
Barcelona are still in the Champions League but Messi was blunt about his side's chances in the competition.
"I said it some time ago, that playing like this we had no chance of winning the Champions League, and it turns out we didn't even have enough to win La Liga," the Argentine continued.
"We need to take a breather, let some air in, and clean out minds of all that has happened since December."
"Playing like this we will lose against Napoli.
"We have to start from zero in the Champions League and blame ourselves for what went wrong."
that's pretty damning
Following the game, Messi spoke to Spanish media and he emotionally admitted the club aren't where they want to be right now.
The 33-year-old stated per Daily Mail: "This game represents the entire year. We have been an erratic and weak team.
"Madrid did its part by winning all its matches, which is impressive, but we also helped them to win this league. We have to be critical of how we have played, starting with the players, and the rest of the club.
"We have lost because of our mistakes and not because of Madrid's successes, as many say.
"The feeling on this team is that it tries, but that it cannot get the job done. Today in the first half they were better than we were and it seems we have to fall behind to react like we tried to do in the second half."
"We are going to have to change a lot if we want to do something..."
Barcelona are still in the Champions League but Messi was blunt about his side's chances in the competition.
"I said it some time ago, that playing like this we had no chance of winning the Champions League, and it turns out we didn't even have enough to win La Liga," the Argentine continued.
"We need to take a breather, let some air in, and clean out minds of all that has happened since December."
"Playing like this we will lose against Napoli.
"We have to start from zero in the Champions League and blame ourselves for what went wrong."
that's pretty damning
IMHO, Messi is after great leverage and influence at Barca. Not money.
Nobody has suggested he'll have a crack at the CL next year with Barca. I've no idea why you gone on about their transfer business or why City would be best for him. He is not desperate to win the CL at any club other than Barca. If he was he'd be long gone now that we know he's had that clause in his contract for the last 3 years and they've got progressively worse during that time. But he's always said he wants to finish his career at Barca.
He's said pretty damning stuff after Roma and Liverpool as well but didn't exercise his clause then either. He said that they've been 'an erratic and weak team' 'the entire year' but didn't exercise the clause in June when he had to.
He didn't exercise it after the 8-2 either, he did it in reaction to Koeman's disrespectful approach.
It's unlikely he really wants to leave Barca at all and less likely again that he wants to do it this summer and cost himself 100m when he'll still have a few years left to try it elsewhere at another club when he's a free agent in a year. There isn't a player in the world, possibly ever, who has more reason to be loyal to his club than Messi. I don't think he wants to play anywhere else.
He's said pretty damning stuff after Roma and Liverpool as well but didn't exercise his clause then either. He said that they've been 'an erratic and weak team' 'the entire year' but didn't exercise the clause in June when he had to.
He didn't exercise it after the 8-2 either, he did it in reaction to Koeman's disrespectful approach.
It's unlikely he really wants to leave Barca at all and less likely again that he wants to do it this summer and cost himself 100m when he'll still have a few years left to try it elsewhere at another club when he's a free agent in a year. There isn't a player in the world, possibly ever, who has more reason to be loyal to his club than Messi. I don't think he wants to play anywhere else.
it seems he was of the understanding because the season was extended because of Corona that would mean the clause would be to, enacted after the season finished, things can change in a year and he may well think City wouldn't come in for him this time next year and if Pep had left he might not want to go then, obviously I've gone on about transfer business because this Barca side look average compared to years gone by and he is a winner, more chance at City, and the current level of the club is not where he thinks it's at, he's said their not good enough, he's given them time, he didn't leave before after those defeats because he wanted to give them time at that point, that's past now, he maybe has 2-3 years left at the very top, he knows looking at the current Barca side he's not winning any CL anytime soon and so can't afford to leave it a year, move to City now and it's real chance to win the CL, stay with Barca it's not, it's not really important he once said he wanted to stay his whole career there, things can obviously chance and they have.
I don't see how he could want to stay for footballing reasons, family reasons maybe but can always move back in 2 years, don't really know how to rate the chances of him leaving/staying as it's hard to say how the discussions will pan or nor do I know the intricacies of the contract, his side and legal team seem sure he can go. What other purpose is there for all this, president already said he's step down, Messi not interested, hardly wants a pay rise either, and if he is determined to leave, then best sell, otherwise it'd be crazy to not get some money for him rather than see him go for nothing, buy out clause not relevant then because Barca know nobody is going to pay that, probably a Ronaldo type fee.
I don't see how he could want to stay for footballing reasons, family reasons maybe but can always move back in 2 years, don't really know how to rate the chances of him leaving/staying as it's hard to say how the discussions will pan or nor do I know the intricacies of the contract, his side and legal team seem sure he can go. What other purpose is there for all this, president already said he's step down, Messi not interested, hardly wants a pay rise either, and if he is determined to leave, then best sell, otherwise it'd be crazy to not get some money for him rather than see him go for nothing, buy out clause not relevant then because Barca know nobody is going to pay that, probably a Ronaldo type fee.
I can understand all the arguments presented.
IMHO, Messi is staying at Barca, a very fine club. Messi is just now playing the long game in angling for better influence and leverage.
IMHO, Messi is staying at Barca, a very fine club. Messi is just now playing the long game in angling for better influence and leverage.
Hard to say what the chances are of him actually leaving for several reasons, though it does in general feel 50/50, of course without being privy to everything going on behind the scenes.
What does seem apparent however is his motivation to leave, it seems genuine, he's given them enough time to prove to him they can rebuild a team capable of winning the CL, they've failed with the team, failed with the managers and failed spectacularly year after year in Europe, and as it stands now, does not look any better going forward.
Because of this, I think Barca will reluctantly agree to sell him and he'll end up at City and the president will end up resigning anyway. Of course I could be spectacularly wrong
Many players say over the years they want to stay at such and such a club for the rest of their careers or the whole of their careers but things simply change and so do minds, remember Beckham saying he wanted to stay at United his whole career, Lampard wanted to finish his career at Chelsea at one point, it's basically something you just say at the time because it's the easiest and best thing to say. Don't think it has any real meaning.
If this ends up in courts he'd obviously have to stay as it'd take too long, season starts in less than 2 weeks, also Messi is being fined 100k a day for not being at Barca, don't think he cares about money.
He's won 1 Champions League in the last 9 seasons, that is a really poor return for a player like him, especially as he's had to watch Ronaldo win 4, and has one more than him in total. Winning La Liga is just not enough when you've already won 10 in a country when Europe is valued more anyway.
What does seem apparent however is his motivation to leave, it seems genuine, he's given them enough time to prove to him they can rebuild a team capable of winning the CL, they've failed with the team, failed with the managers and failed spectacularly year after year in Europe, and as it stands now, does not look any better going forward.
Because of this, I think Barca will reluctantly agree to sell him and he'll end up at City and the president will end up resigning anyway. Of course I could be spectacularly wrong
Many players say over the years they want to stay at such and such a club for the rest of their careers or the whole of their careers but things simply change and so do minds, remember Beckham saying he wanted to stay at United his whole career, Lampard wanted to finish his career at Chelsea at one point, it's basically something you just say at the time because it's the easiest and best thing to say. Don't think it has any real meaning.
If this ends up in courts he'd obviously have to stay as it'd take too long, season starts in less than 2 weeks, also Messi is being fined 100k a day for not being at Barca, don't think he cares about money.
He's won 1 Champions League in the last 9 seasons, that is a really poor return for a player like him, especially as he's had to watch Ronaldo win 4, and has one more than him in total. Winning La Liga is just not enough when you've already won 10 in a country when Europe is valued more anyway.
City went as low as 1.61 Weds morning on the basis of nothing of substance and in the last hour or so No Transfer has gone from 3.45 to odds on. There is decent volume for a market like this too. His Dad was supposed to meet Bartomeu for talks on Wednesday.
Much ado about nuffin
The Bard would be
pleased
The Bard would be
pleased
Seems hes staying
Not ehuff dinero to make him
LEAVE
Not ehuff dinero to make him
LEAVE
forced to stay against his will, now will definitely leave on a free next year, fancy letting such a huge asset leave for nothing especially when this upcoming season his head probably wont be in it.
New President in March, you have no idea whether his head won't be in it and he may have no intention of leaving next year either when the time comes. Has always maintained he will finish his career at Barca. Media peddling absolute horseshít about City from day one. He may have had no intention of leaving at all, despite what he said in his interview today. He's hardly going to come out and say that tho.
Messi has 'used' City to the max.
To enhance his influence and leverage at Barca, and who can blame him?
Personally I am relived that Cities attempt to buy the title with pumped in oil money have been quashed, for at least this year.
To enhance his influence and leverage at Barca, and who can blame him?
Personally I am relived that Cities attempt to buy the title with pumped in oil money have been quashed, for at least this year.
I've no idea who's going to get relegated next season, but we're all entitled to our best guess.
You take his word he said he wanted to see out his career at Barca but not his word he wanted to leave, selective
You take his word he said he wanted to see out his career at Barca but not his word he wanted to leave, selective
A top player like Messi is not gonner wanna coast to the end of his career, he is a winner and if he feels he can't win the CL again it stands to reason he'd look elsewhere, hard to see how he see's Barca doing just this given the last few years in the comp and the current squad, Man City is more ready made, despite recent failings.
Still believing the Man City horseshít? There was zero substance to any link with City, wake up. There isn't a shred of reliable evidence that he even negotiated with another club.
Footballers have said they want to leave in order to get what they want before, not a new thing. Saying he is loyal to the club who made him as a player and a man, and the city that all his kids call home has some reason and substance to it, saying he wants to leave doesn't necessarily. I don't attach the same weight to both statements but you can continue to if you want.
Everything indicated that he was going nowhere from day one if you'd just analysed the evidence, which I did in the second reply in the thread, but you still attached more weight to papers adding 2+2 and getting 5++ when they were never going to write anything else and have a track record as long as your arm of making things up out of thin air to sell papers
Footballers have said they want to leave in order to get what they want before, not a new thing. Saying he is loyal to the club who made him as a player and a man, and the city that all his kids call home has some reason and substance to it, saying he wants to leave doesn't necessarily. I don't attach the same weight to both statements but you can continue to if you want.
Everything indicated that he was going nowhere from day one if you'd just analysed the evidence, which I did in the second reply in the thread, but you still attached more weight to papers adding 2+2 and getting 5++ when they were never going to write anything else and have a track record as long as your arm of making things up out of thin air to sell papers
A manager who he used to work with and had his best times under, the best manager he's ever worked for, a player who's he's best in football, also at the same club, a team more capable of winning the CL in his last 2 years at the top, a club that can offer him equal salary and then some, currently playing for a team he's hammered, a team not good enough with a manager incoming with no great track record, that has plenty of substance.
You can't say on one hand that 'oh Messi's always said that he wanted to stay Barca forever, that's bit is true!' but then on the other say, 'oh Messi saying he wanted to leave, that bit was false, just playing games to get what he wants' and then top it off with then telling me that I have no idea what he might actually think
You can't say on one hand that 'oh Messi's always said that he wanted to stay Barca forever, that's bit is true!' but then on the other say, 'oh Messi saying he wanted to leave, that bit was false, just playing games to get what he wants' and then top it off with then telling me that I have no idea what he might actually think
best friend in football=aguero
Lionel Messi performed an incredible climbdown on Friday, admitting defeat in his attempt to force a move to Manchester City.
The 33-year-old confirmed he was staying at Barcelona until the end of the forthcoming season because the club had blocked his transfer by insisting on demanding his astronomical release clause was met.
‘I am going to continue at this club because the president has told me the only way I can leave is if I pay the €700million (£625m) and that is impossible,’ he said.
Messi's desire to avoid a courtroom battle with the club is the main reason behind his decision +1.
‘The only other way was to go to court and I would never take Barcelona to court because I love the club. The president always said that at the end of the season I could decide if I wanted to go or if I wanted to stay and in the end he did not keep his word.’
Messi appeared to be willing to fight on yesterday when his father Jorge issued a statement that appeared to quote directly from his contract stating: ‘The release clause will not apply after the end of the 2019-20 season.’
The statement criticised La Liga for supporting Barcelona’s right to demand £625m for his sale and condemned the Spanish league’s ‘obvious lack of impartiality’.
But that was the last shot fired before the white flag was raised
La Liga responded by accusing Messi of having taken the clause out of context. Messi told new coach Ronald Koeman he wanted to leave Barca two weeks ago. Five days later he sent the club a burofax informing them that he believed he was a free agent having officially triggered a clause in his contract.
The club insisted Messi had missed a June 10 deadline to exercise it.
Messi said in an interview with website Goal last night: ‘We were sure I was a free agent. The president always said at the end of the season I could decide if I wanted to stay or not. And now they hold on to the fact that I did not say it before June 10. But in June we were still competing in La Liga in the middle of this f****** virus. That had changed all the dates.’
Messi denied the 8-2 defeat by Bayern Munich triggered his desire to leave but said years of Champions League failure and mismanagement pushed him to try to force his way out.
‘You can win or lose but you have to be able to compete and not have what happened in Rome and Liverpool,’ he said picking out two heavy defeats, including the 4-0 loss at Anfield in 2019.
‘The truth is that there has been no clear project here for a long time, they juggle and plug holes with no real plan.’
The 33-year-old confirmed he was staying at Barcelona until the end of the forthcoming season because the club had blocked his transfer by insisting on demanding his astronomical release clause was met.
‘I am going to continue at this club because the president has told me the only way I can leave is if I pay the €700million (£625m) and that is impossible,’ he said.
Messi's desire to avoid a courtroom battle with the club is the main reason behind his decision +1.
‘The only other way was to go to court and I would never take Barcelona to court because I love the club. The president always said that at the end of the season I could decide if I wanted to go or if I wanted to stay and in the end he did not keep his word.’
Messi appeared to be willing to fight on yesterday when his father Jorge issued a statement that appeared to quote directly from his contract stating: ‘The release clause will not apply after the end of the 2019-20 season.’
The statement criticised La Liga for supporting Barcelona’s right to demand £625m for his sale and condemned the Spanish league’s ‘obvious lack of impartiality’.
But that was the last shot fired before the white flag was raised
La Liga responded by accusing Messi of having taken the clause out of context. Messi told new coach Ronald Koeman he wanted to leave Barca two weeks ago. Five days later he sent the club a burofax informing them that he believed he was a free agent having officially triggered a clause in his contract.
The club insisted Messi had missed a June 10 deadline to exercise it.
Messi said in an interview with website Goal last night: ‘We were sure I was a free agent. The president always said at the end of the season I could decide if I wanted to stay or not. And now they hold on to the fact that I did not say it before June 10. But in June we were still competing in La Liga in the middle of this f****** virus. That had changed all the dates.’
Messi denied the 8-2 defeat by Bayern Munich triggered his desire to leave but said years of Champions League failure and mismanagement pushed him to try to force his way out.
‘You can win or lose but you have to be able to compete and not have what happened in Rome and Liverpool,’ he said picking out two heavy defeats, including the 4-0 loss at Anfield in 2019.
‘The truth is that there has been no clear project here for a long time, they juggle and plug holes with no real plan.’
Of course Messi wanted to leave. The affirmation of the release clause stops him. There wouldn't be any evidence of negotiating with other clubs as that is against the rules until January.
'Just wanted to get more influence at Barca'
Don't understand this at all. How much more influence can he have ? Does he actually want to be President of the club ? Hardly seems like a person that wants to get involved with public speeches etc
He already told them to sign Neymar back, they tried, couldn't do it, and they still can't.
IMO he wants to leave because he does not see them as contenders for the CL, and perhaps not even the league anymore. He wants to win another CL and this year decided he can't see it happening with Barca. It is rubbish to say they have not been serious contenders in recent years. They were only behind City in the betting in 2018 & 2019 and their defeats both seemed a bit freakish, so it was reasonable to think they just needed fix a couple of things. But 2020 showed they are nowhere near and nothing they are able to do in the transfer market is likely to change that.
'Just wanted to get more influence at Barca'
Don't understand this at all. How much more influence can he have ? Does he actually want to be President of the club ? Hardly seems like a person that wants to get involved with public speeches etc
He already told them to sign Neymar back, they tried, couldn't do it, and they still can't.
IMO he wants to leave because he does not see them as contenders for the CL, and perhaps not even the league anymore. He wants to win another CL and this year decided he can't see it happening with Barca. It is rubbish to say they have not been serious contenders in recent years. They were only behind City in the betting in 2018 & 2019 and their defeats both seemed a bit freakish, so it was reasonable to think they just needed fix a couple of things. But 2020 showed they are nowhere near and nothing they are able to do in the transfer market is likely to change that.
Millions of words used up on a situation that was always pretty clear. Messi was going nowhere until Barcelona said so. And nothing has changed other than Messi needing to eat a bit of humble pie.
I don't think this is necessarily over yet, there are still some games being played imo and some PR games with the fans.
Bartomeu is under pressure because there is a massive hole in the club's finances and he's under investigation for fraud, basically. And there was a development in the case in the last day or two when the cops said that there's enough evidence to say he has a case to answer - the timing of that is not coincidental imo.
If I were Barca I would want to sell in the financial circumstances and moreso if I was Bartomeu. Messi has had a 2 year extension offer on the table for some time now and refused to sign it. Maybe Bartomeu showed his hand and told him he could leave for say 250m and he wanted to leave for less and then came out with his interview to put more pressure on Bartomeu? If the club doesn't want him it changes everything - he can say Ok if the club doesn't want me I'll leave now and blame them.
Darren I've read his interview. You need to take what he says lightly. There is no way he didn't take legal advice before exercising the clause and his lawyer would have told him that he didn't have a case. The letter from his Dad is just his camp putting out their spin that they still think their reading of the contract is right but it clearly isn't.
There is no way the contract says the release clause will not apply after the end of the '2019-20 season' without that term being defined by specific dates elsewhere in the contract. That language is not specific enough for a contract, it provides insufficient legal certainty for either party. Messi even referred to the June 10 date, so there's obviously more to it than that and obviously a time limit, prob 10 days from June 1st with a season as being defined as running from June 1 to May 31 every year in the definitions section at the start of the contract. That's not what his father's letter said anyway. It said that it wouldn't apply in the event of 'termination of the contract by unilateral decision of the player' and Barca say he didn't unilaterally terminate it because he needed to do that by June 10, which he didn't. His father is taking snippets out of the contract which suit his agenda and not stating the terms which don't, which is why they said he was reading it out of context.
La Liga would not have put their neck on the block in a dispute worth hundreds of millions if it wasn't clearly in Barca's favour, there is no need for them to get involved unless it's clear and risk being joined into any legal proceedings. It's just spin for the fans, putting pressure on Bartomeu and his big ego unable to admit he was in the wrong in his reading of the clause. If he was thinking about leaving all year he should have exercised it in June and left his options open and I can't imagine he wasn't aware of the date seeing as he negotiated the clause himself or that he wouldn't have checked the clause with his lawyer long before the end of the season. More spin from Leo. And maybe a few dirt tricks with the cops.
Bartomeu is under pressure because there is a massive hole in the club's finances and he's under investigation for fraud, basically. And there was a development in the case in the last day or two when the cops said that there's enough evidence to say he has a case to answer - the timing of that is not coincidental imo.
If I were Barca I would want to sell in the financial circumstances and moreso if I was Bartomeu. Messi has had a 2 year extension offer on the table for some time now and refused to sign it. Maybe Bartomeu showed his hand and told him he could leave for say 250m and he wanted to leave for less and then came out with his interview to put more pressure on Bartomeu? If the club doesn't want him it changes everything - he can say Ok if the club doesn't want me I'll leave now and blame them.
Darren I've read his interview. You need to take what he says lightly. There is no way he didn't take legal advice before exercising the clause and his lawyer would have told him that he didn't have a case. The letter from his Dad is just his camp putting out their spin that they still think their reading of the contract is right but it clearly isn't.
There is no way the contract says the release clause will not apply after the end of the '2019-20 season' without that term being defined by specific dates elsewhere in the contract. That language is not specific enough for a contract, it provides insufficient legal certainty for either party. Messi even referred to the June 10 date, so there's obviously more to it than that and obviously a time limit, prob 10 days from June 1st with a season as being defined as running from June 1 to May 31 every year in the definitions section at the start of the contract. That's not what his father's letter said anyway. It said that it wouldn't apply in the event of 'termination of the contract by unilateral decision of the player' and Barca say he didn't unilaterally terminate it because he needed to do that by June 10, which he didn't. His father is taking snippets out of the contract which suit his agenda and not stating the terms which don't, which is why they said he was reading it out of context.
La Liga would not have put their neck on the block in a dispute worth hundreds of millions if it wasn't clearly in Barca's favour, there is no need for them to get involved unless it's clear and risk being joined into any legal proceedings. It's just spin for the fans, putting pressure on Bartomeu and his big ego unable to admit he was in the wrong in his reading of the clause. If he was thinking about leaving all year he should have exercised it in June and left his options open and I can't imagine he wasn't aware of the date seeing as he negotiated the clause himself or that he wouldn't have checked the clause with his lawyer long before the end of the season. More spin from Leo. And maybe a few dirt tricks with the cops.
I will say this now - I'm beginning to think that the door is being left open by both Pep and Messi to be reunited next Summer at either Barca or City, with Barca the preference, although that will depend on what happens upstairs and financially at Barca
Lionel Messi: Guillem Balague on why Barcelona 'may not win the war'
By Guillem Balague
So now we know. Lionel Messi is to stay at Barcelona, at least for one more season.
In the short term, it is a victory for the club and its directors in a much-publicised stand-off between them and the Argentine genius.
But while Barcelona have won this battle there is no guarantee they will end up winning the war - or even that this victory doesn't turn out to be a pyrrhic one.
So why has Messi decided to stay?
Ultimately, Messi is staying because he feels he has no option and that he has been deceived by the club president Josep Maria Bartomeu, who he says always assured him if he still felt unhappy with the way things were at the end of the season he could leave the club as the contract suggested.
Messi may well be staying, but this is a man who wants to leave. The spirit of his contract said he could decide what he wanted to do at the end of the season. The letter of the contract said he had to inform the club by 10 June.
On 10 June, coronavirus meant the last phase of the season had not even begun. Barcelona were, at the time, two points clear at the top of the league with 11 games to play and still very much in the Champions League, with the second leg of the last 16 to be played. Hardly the time to hand in your notice.
At the time, Messi was comforted by verbal assurances he had received from the president that at the end of the season he could decide whether he wanted to stay or go.
In a nutshell, Messi thought he had a verbal agreement, but Bartomeu saw his chance and was not about to be remembered as the president who let Messi leave.
In the Goal interview broadcast on Friday, Messi has been unequivocal about it. The reason - well, the main one - he is staying for another season is that he has been told the only way he can leave is by paying the 700m euro buyout clause the club claim is still in his contract. Or go to court. And he was not going to court with the club he loves.
That is something that is not going to happen.
Messi's legal team have been keen to point out to their client that they believe he had more than a fair chance of winning the argument in a court of law, that - as his father and agent Jorge Messi said in a letter to La Liga - the contract says there is no 700m euro buyout clause applicable from the end of last season.
But Messi was never going to go down the legal road against the club that had given him everything and to whom he has given everything. He made it quite clear in his interview that it never crossed his mind to take Barcelona to court.
So how did we get here?
For a long time, Messi had become increasingly disillusioned with what he perceived as a lack of a project at the Nou Camp, as he himself suggests in the interview.
At the age of 33 he felt in his heart this was a club going backwards. Weaknesses were being masked, mostly by him, sticking plasters placed on gaping wounds.
Messi is, always has been and always will be a winner. He has never done losing very well. He also knows he is now in the twilight of what has been a stellar career and wants to finish it as he always lived it - as a winner.
It had become blindingly obvious to him that this wasn't going to happen if he stayed on at Barcelona, as much as he wanted to finish his career with them.
He had lost patience with those taking decisions at the club, mostly Bartomeu, and with that also lost the passion he needs to be the best he can be.
Above all, Messi was not enjoying himself and made no secret of the fact to the club's hierarchy. Don't worry, he was told, if you feel like that at the end of the season then you can go.
When it became clear the club were not listening to his protestations he finally decided after the exit from the Champions League to officially announce by burofax that he was leaving the club, and that as far as he was concerned his contract allowed him to leave on a free transfer.
Suggestions handing in his notice by recorded delivery were disrespectful were way off the mark. The burofax was sent to make official what he wanted to do because the president was not taking what he said seriously.
All year he had been telling the president that he wanted to go, as he has admitted in the interview. Had he not sent it, nothing would have happened and it would have looked like he was prepared to stay for another year.
So what happens now?
Having convinced his family to move (not without tears as they imagined a life away from what they love and in the place they will return if he ends up moving at some point), Messi will now stay. He has said his attitude will not change and even though he has tried to leave he will still give his best.
What he will find is a club in transition, although with the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Ansu Fati, Ousmane Dembele, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Frenkie de Jong and Miralem Pjanic in the squad this is still a very good side.
Maybe - just maybe - new manager Ronald Koeman can convince Messi he is at the right club, playing the right way, making the right advances and between them they can change things, move mountains, be successful, and then suddenly all the unhappiness he is feeling will disappear.
But I'm not sure we have heard the end of this saga yet.
Koeman and Barcelona are going to have to get used to working with a player who claims he has been deceived by the club president, a player who has made it abundantly clear he wants to leave, and a player who has openly stated he is unhappy.
Make no mistake, Barcelona are keeping a player at the club who doesn't want to be there because of the way the club is run and because of who is running it.
Bartomeu, who would leave his post in March before elections, got his wish of not being the president that lost Messi, but was his agenda favoured ahead of the club's?
The expected income this campaign would be reduced to perhaps 700m euro - a big deduction from the 1bn of last season - and one player will take more than 100m euros of that.
Messi himself said his departure would have been good for a club in need of fresh blood (and more sound finances). For him. For everyone.
By Guillem Balague
So now we know. Lionel Messi is to stay at Barcelona, at least for one more season.
In the short term, it is a victory for the club and its directors in a much-publicised stand-off between them and the Argentine genius.
But while Barcelona have won this battle there is no guarantee they will end up winning the war - or even that this victory doesn't turn out to be a pyrrhic one.
So why has Messi decided to stay?
Ultimately, Messi is staying because he feels he has no option and that he has been deceived by the club president Josep Maria Bartomeu, who he says always assured him if he still felt unhappy with the way things were at the end of the season he could leave the club as the contract suggested.
Messi may well be staying, but this is a man who wants to leave. The spirit of his contract said he could decide what he wanted to do at the end of the season. The letter of the contract said he had to inform the club by 10 June.
On 10 June, coronavirus meant the last phase of the season had not even begun. Barcelona were, at the time, two points clear at the top of the league with 11 games to play and still very much in the Champions League, with the second leg of the last 16 to be played. Hardly the time to hand in your notice.
At the time, Messi was comforted by verbal assurances he had received from the president that at the end of the season he could decide whether he wanted to stay or go.
In a nutshell, Messi thought he had a verbal agreement, but Bartomeu saw his chance and was not about to be remembered as the president who let Messi leave.
In the Goal interview broadcast on Friday, Messi has been unequivocal about it. The reason - well, the main one - he is staying for another season is that he has been told the only way he can leave is by paying the 700m euro buyout clause the club claim is still in his contract. Or go to court. And he was not going to court with the club he loves.
That is something that is not going to happen.
Messi's legal team have been keen to point out to their client that they believe he had more than a fair chance of winning the argument in a court of law, that - as his father and agent Jorge Messi said in a letter to La Liga - the contract says there is no 700m euro buyout clause applicable from the end of last season.
But Messi was never going to go down the legal road against the club that had given him everything and to whom he has given everything. He made it quite clear in his interview that it never crossed his mind to take Barcelona to court.
So how did we get here?
For a long time, Messi had become increasingly disillusioned with what he perceived as a lack of a project at the Nou Camp, as he himself suggests in the interview.
At the age of 33 he felt in his heart this was a club going backwards. Weaknesses were being masked, mostly by him, sticking plasters placed on gaping wounds.
Messi is, always has been and always will be a winner. He has never done losing very well. He also knows he is now in the twilight of what has been a stellar career and wants to finish it as he always lived it - as a winner.
It had become blindingly obvious to him that this wasn't going to happen if he stayed on at Barcelona, as much as he wanted to finish his career with them.
He had lost patience with those taking decisions at the club, mostly Bartomeu, and with that also lost the passion he needs to be the best he can be.
Above all, Messi was not enjoying himself and made no secret of the fact to the club's hierarchy. Don't worry, he was told, if you feel like that at the end of the season then you can go.
When it became clear the club were not listening to his protestations he finally decided after the exit from the Champions League to officially announce by burofax that he was leaving the club, and that as far as he was concerned his contract allowed him to leave on a free transfer.
Suggestions handing in his notice by recorded delivery were disrespectful were way off the mark. The burofax was sent to make official what he wanted to do because the president was not taking what he said seriously.
All year he had been telling the president that he wanted to go, as he has admitted in the interview. Had he not sent it, nothing would have happened and it would have looked like he was prepared to stay for another year.
So what happens now?
Having convinced his family to move (not without tears as they imagined a life away from what they love and in the place they will return if he ends up moving at some point), Messi will now stay. He has said his attitude will not change and even though he has tried to leave he will still give his best.
What he will find is a club in transition, although with the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Ansu Fati, Ousmane Dembele, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Frenkie de Jong and Miralem Pjanic in the squad this is still a very good side.
Maybe - just maybe - new manager Ronald Koeman can convince Messi he is at the right club, playing the right way, making the right advances and between them they can change things, move mountains, be successful, and then suddenly all the unhappiness he is feeling will disappear.
But I'm not sure we have heard the end of this saga yet.
Koeman and Barcelona are going to have to get used to working with a player who claims he has been deceived by the club president, a player who has made it abundantly clear he wants to leave, and a player who has openly stated he is unhappy.
Make no mistake, Barcelona are keeping a player at the club who doesn't want to be there because of the way the club is run and because of who is running it.
Bartomeu, who would leave his post in March before elections, got his wish of not being the president that lost Messi, but was his agenda favoured ahead of the club's?
The expected income this campaign would be reduced to perhaps 700m euro - a big deduction from the 1bn of last season - and one player will take more than 100m euros of that.
Messi himself said his departure would have been good for a club in need of fresh blood (and more sound finances). For him. For everyone.
Why did Messi go through all this for then if he was always going to stay
Doesn't want more money, hasn't called for the president to resign, president even offered to if he stayed apparently so it wasn't that, if he and his team knew the contract was water tight then it would seem he wanted Barca to let him go anyway and waive the release clause which they didn't want to do, I mean he could now leave next year on a free, Madrid at least got 100 million euro's for a 33 year old, Barca have money troubles.
Now that he is staying, it is actually likely that now he'll stay for the rest of his career simply because I think Pep and Aguero are in their last year at City and it'd make that option less likely, unless Barca bomb so badly again in Europe he goes to PSG for one last hurrah.
Doesn't want more money, hasn't called for the president to resign, president even offered to if he stayed apparently so it wasn't that, if he and his team knew the contract was water tight then it would seem he wanted Barca to let him go anyway and waive the release clause which they didn't want to do, I mean he could now leave next year on a free, Madrid at least got 100 million euro's for a 33 year old, Barca have money troubles.
Now that he is staying, it is actually likely that now he'll stay for the rest of his career simply because I think Pep and Aguero are in their last year at City and it'd make that option less likely, unless Barca bomb so badly again in Europe he goes to PSG for one last hurrah.
A new President may well allow Messi to leave for a consideration much smaller than his contractual release fee.
Messi stays at Barca, cost to Barca £100M in wages and bonuses and Messi leaves on a free next summer. Messi leaves Barca now, Barca collect £100M transfer fee and save £100M in wages and bonuses. In other words it’s going to cost Barca £400M to keep a 33 year old player for one season who doesn’t want to be there. Most people at Barca can see the stupidity of this except Bartomeu. Expect to see the dust settle over the next week or so, then for more cooler and sensible heads to prevail and for negotiations to open for Messi’s exit.
The real villian in this is Bartomeu. Is he corrupt? or just incompetent? probably a bit of both imo. In eras past a chief executive as useless as this bloke would fall on his sword without conditions.
Barca is a fan run club you would think they would drag him out of his office by his hairs kicking and screaming or at the very least mass protests to get him out. I guess people aren't built that way nowadays.
Barca is a fan run club you would think they would drag him out of his office by his hairs kicking and screaming or at the very least mass protests to get him out. I guess people aren't built that way nowadays.
Bartomeu came out and said that he would resign in order to keep Messi but he said Messi would have to come out and publicly blame him first and that's exactly what Messi did yesterday, in no uncertain terms. He went out of his way to blame him in a number of different ways, the running of the club, the going back on his supposed word to let him leave at the end of the season.
None of this proposed move this summer or late exercise of his break clause when he's been 'thinking about it all season' makes any sense to me whatsoever. It doesn't add up at all. Messi is no mug, he has always been well on top of his contract situation at Barca, even going back looking for pay rises 6 months after signing a new deal on more than one occasion. Something else is up here, the agenda is not as it appears. My theory above that the real plan is to get Pep back to Barca next Summer but to cover up that plan with spin and make it look like the opposite is the plan makes more sense to me right now.
Font is favourite for new President and his campaign is based on getting Pep back to Barca. Wouldn't be the most surprising thing if he's already had a word with Pep would it? And not something Pep would want City or the media to get wind of either while his contract situation is the same as Messi's. Look over there everybody!
These supposed 'in the know' guys like Hunter or Balague are anything but. They are just 'useful idiots' for agents and players who want to get spin out there and feed it to them. Hunter and Balague aren't really idiots either. They are spin merchants and they know it but they make a living out of it with TV appearances and newspaper columns for their supposed inside track.
Could be way off here of course but I don't think any of this is as far-fetched as Messi going to City this summer or City having a 5 year deal lined up for a player they don't even know the cost of. There was also a story last week about how Pep told Messi to see out his Barca contract and they'd come for him next year. That doesn't tally at all with the 5 year deal story but it would provide Pep with cover if the real plan is for him to go to Messi rather than vice versa.
None of this proposed move this summer or late exercise of his break clause when he's been 'thinking about it all season' makes any sense to me whatsoever. It doesn't add up at all. Messi is no mug, he has always been well on top of his contract situation at Barca, even going back looking for pay rises 6 months after signing a new deal on more than one occasion. Something else is up here, the agenda is not as it appears. My theory above that the real plan is to get Pep back to Barca next Summer but to cover up that plan with spin and make it look like the opposite is the plan makes more sense to me right now.
Font is favourite for new President and his campaign is based on getting Pep back to Barca. Wouldn't be the most surprising thing if he's already had a word with Pep would it? And not something Pep would want City or the media to get wind of either while his contract situation is the same as Messi's. Look over there everybody!
These supposed 'in the know' guys like Hunter or Balague are anything but. They are just 'useful idiots' for agents and players who want to get spin out there and feed it to them. Hunter and Balague aren't really idiots either. They are spin merchants and they know it but they make a living out of it with TV appearances and newspaper columns for their supposed inside track.
Could be way off here of course but I don't think any of this is as far-fetched as Messi going to City this summer or City having a 5 year deal lined up for a player they don't even know the cost of. There was also a story last week about how Pep told Messi to see out his Barca contract and they'd come for him next year. That doesn't tally at all with the 5 year deal story but it would provide Pep with cover if the real plan is for him to go to Messi rather than vice versa.
Font doesn't want Pep, he wants Xavi as manager which he's said a few times and he's campaign has been centred around that, only wants Pep back upstairs, so he said in a live chat on Zoom.
One thing I do agree with is the journalists, mostly in the dark like the rest of us but are paid to shed some light, practically none of them have contacts within Messi's camp.
One thing I do agree with is the journalists, mostly in the dark like the rest of us but are paid to shed some light, practically none of them have contacts within Messi's camp.
Journalists are paid to sell papers not "shed light"! lol.
don't think Balague and Hunter are on Sky to sell papers.
Correct about Pep Darren, but the point still stands that he wants him back as part of his campaign and it would be surprising if he came out with that without having spoken to him about it or got some indication that he'd be interested.
The likes of Hunter and Balague write for papers on occasion. They get paid by agents to spin, then get paid again for the same thing by the media conduit they spin through, TV, podcasts, papers etc. Then they write books about it afterwards. Coining it. Balague was tweeting out the letter from Messi's Dad yesterday while Messi was recording his interview with goal.com.
The likes of Hunter and Balague write for papers on occasion. They get paid by agents to spin, then get paid again for the same thing by the media conduit they spin through, TV, podcasts, papers etc. Then they write books about it afterwards. Coining it. Balague was tweeting out the letter from Messi's Dad yesterday while Messi was recording his interview with goal.com.
Just keep an eye on Pep's contract situation with City. There were reports a few weeks ago that he had signed a short extension but no formal announcement.
For as long as that remains the case it's yet another thing that doesn't add up if he's supposed to be getting Messi on a free next Summer and Messi is a supposed cert to leave Barca when his contract ends.
For as long as that remains the case it's yet another thing that doesn't add up if he's supposed to be getting Messi on a free next Summer and Messi is a supposed cert to leave Barca when his contract ends.
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