Lionel Messi takes another step away from Barcelona by not appearing for training on Monday afternoon, because he believes that the agreement he has with the Catalan club has already ended.
Messi shocked the football world when he sent the departure letter to the club board, after the end of the 2019/20 season, which was extremely disappointing for the Catalan giant, insisting that there was a clause in the deal that allowed him to leave the club for free .
But La Liga has dashed those hopes for the Argentine, siding with Barcelona, ??who claim that the clause on which Messi is called has expired in June, which means that if he leaves, any club that wants him will have to pay the buyout clause of 700 million euros.
Messi, however, continues to insist on his stance and has distanced himself even further from the Camp Nou.
On Sunday, he did not go to the club’s medical center to have a PCR test and will not join teammates for Monday’s training session, for the first time under new coach Ronald Koeman.
The 33-year-old is said to be more likely to join Manchester City after nearly two decades as part of the Spanish giants, while Paris Saint-Germain and Inter are the other two clubs that have shown serious interest in him.
Messi, whose contract with Barca expires in 2021, wants to meet with the club’s board to resolve the situation, but it is said that the club will agree to talk to him only about contract renewal and nothing else.
The six-time winner of the Golden Ball, who is considered the best footballer in the history of this sport, has been part of Barcelona since 2001, while he made his debut in the first team in 2004.
