Argentine striker Lionel Messi has conveyed his message to Barcelona that he no longer wants to stay with the club and would want to leave Barcelona this summer.
Argentine striker Lionel Messi has conveyed his message to Barcelona that he no longer wants to stay with the club and would want to leave Barcelona this summer.
The 33-year-old captain of the club has sent a fax to Barcelona, asking them to allow him to activate a clause in his contract that will allow him to leave on a free transfer this summer, Goal.com reported.
The club subsequently sent Messi a burofax, stating they wanted him to stay and finish his career at Barca. Burofax is a service used in Spain to urgently dispatch a document that requires proof to third parties.
According to reports, Messi`s lawyers referred to a clause in the last contract the 33-year-old Argentine signed with Barcelona in 2017 which allowed him to leave for free, a clause that expired on June 10 this year.
Under the terms of the contract which expires in 2021, the only way Messi can leave without the club's consent is if a rival side pays his release clause of 700 million euros (629.7 million pounds).
"The club considers that the contract is fully binding until 30 June 2021," added the second source.
Messi has spent his entire career with Barcelona and has managed to win Ballon d`Or six times. He had a contract until 2021 but has grown disappointed with events on and off the pitch at Camp Nou in recent months.
Over the past few days, severe speculation was doing the rounds about Messi's future with Barcelona.
The announcement comes 11 days after Barcelona's humiliating 2-8 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals, one of the worst defeats in the player`s career and in the club's history. Since then, the club has been dealing with a crisis.
Head coach Quique Setien was sacked after the Bayern loss. Technical manager Eric Abidal has already departed as well, while Ronald Koeman was appointed the new coach of Barcelona. Messi met with Setien`s replacement, Ronald Koeman, last week, telling him that he had doubts about his future in Catalonia.
The Argentine`s request to leave Barca comes a day after Spanish media reported that new coach Ronald Koeman told Messi`s close friend and strike partner, Luis Suarez, that he does not wish the Uruguayan to stay at the club.
Other reports said that Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal, Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic and French defender Samuel Umtiti have also been told they are no longer wanted.
Barcelona had to endure a trophy-less 2019-20 campaign. The side had finished at the second place, behind Real Madrid in La Liga standings for the 2019-20 season.
Setien was the second Barcelona head coach to be sacked this year. Setien had replaced Ernesto Valverde, with the latter being sacked following a loss to Atletico Madrid in the Supercopa de Espana despite being at the top of La Liga at the time.
Setien recorded 16 wins, four draws, and five defeats during his time with Barcelona.
(With agency inputs)
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