Lionel Messi announced on Friday, September 4, 2020, that he will be staying with Barcelona for the 2020-21 season despite telling the club that he wanted to leave.
Messi made the announcement in an exclusive interview with Goal.
“I'll continue at Barcelona and my attitude won't change, no matter how much I have wanted to go.
“I told the club, the president, that I wanted to go. I've been telling him all year.
"I thought my time in Barcelona was over, sadly – I always wanted to finish my career here." pic.twitter.com/wwZUBd1wHD
— GOAL (@goal) September 4, 2020
The news comes days after the Spanish league declared Messi was still under contract with Barcelona through June 2021 and could not leave without having to pay the 700 million euro ($837 million) buyout clause.
Messi and his father Jorge, who is also Messi’s agent, have claimed the contract allows his son to leave for free at the end of the season, which this year was pushed back by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Friday’s announcement from Messi puts that discussion to bed and avoids what would have likely been a lengthy legal battle between the club and its greatest-ever player.
"It was a very difficult year, I suffered a lot in training, in games and in the dressing room.
"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 end up keeping his word." pic.twitter.com/7goCX3mhH8
— GOAL (@goal) September 4, 2020
Messi invoked the clause to leave last week, shortly after the team’s humiliating 8-2 loss Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals.
The 33-year-old’s decision to stay is an obvious boost for Barcelona, but the club is still mired in crisis three weeks after the loss to Bayern Munich on August 14. And there are few signs that the club is close to getting back on track a few weeks from the start of the new season.
"I wanted a winning project and to win titles with the club to continue expanding the legend of Barcelona.
"The truth is that there has been no project or anything for a long time, they juggle and cover holes as things go by." pic.twitter.com/Q9m6Or0hOV
— GOAL (@goal) September 4, 2020
Barcelona club president Josep Bartomeu and incoming coach Ronald Koeman have said the team’s restructuring project revolved around Messi, so his decision to stay is key to helping lift the club out of one of its worst crises ever.
"I feel hurt by things that I heard from people, from journalism, from people questioning my Barcelonismo.
"It also helped me to see who is who. There are many very false people.
"It hurt me when my love for this club was questioned. My love for Barca will never change." pic.twitter.com/ZgWUELAwsj
— GOAL (@goal) September 4, 2020
Barcelona is scheduled to start its season against Villarreal in the Spanish league at the end of the month.
Source: Sportsnet
