Messi to ‘continue’ at Barcelona, vows his attitude won’t change

Argentina forward, Lionel Messi has decided to continue at Barcelona following the club’s refusal to let him go this summer.

Messi handed in a transfer request last week after Barca were humiliated by eventual champions Bayern in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.

The exit meant Barca failed to win any trophy for the season, and Messi admitted that the club’s lack of success influenced his decision to leave.

“When I communicated my wish to leave to my wife and children, it was a brutal drama,” Messi told Goal in an interview.

“The whole family began crying, my children did not want to leave Barcelona, nor did they want to change schools.”

Moreso, the 33-year-old wanted to exercise a clause in his contract which he said allowed him to leave for free, but the club said his 700m euro release clause would have to be met.

“I’ll continue at Barcelona and my attitude won’t change, no matter how much I have wanted to go,” added Messi

Read Also: Messi can’t leave Barca for free as La Liga says €700m release clause valid

“I thought and was sure that I was free to leave.

“The president always said that at the end of the season I could decide if I stayed or not.

“Now I am going to continue in the club because the president told me that the only way to leave was to pay the 700m clause, and that this is impossible.”

Messi says the fact he did not tell Barcelona he wanted to leave before 10 June was crucial, and had he done so his release clause would not have had to be met.

“Now they cling to the fact that I did not say it before 10 June, when it turns out that on 10 June we were competing for La Liga in the middle of this awful coronavirus and this disease altered all the season,” he added.

“There was another way and it was to go to trial. I would never go to court against Barca because it is the club that I love, which gave me everything since I arrived.

“It is the club of my life, I have made my life here. I know that it never crossed my mind to take Barca to court.”

Meanwhile, the Barca’s all-time leading goal scorer has not trained with his team-mates in recent days.

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