Lionel Messi will be allowed to leave Barcelona only if release clause is paid: La Liga
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La Liga on Sunday released a statement saying Lionel Messi’s contract with Barcelona is still valid and the league will not allow the transfer of the Argentine to any other club unless the EUR 700 million release clause is paid.
La Liga on Sunday released a statement saying Lionel Messi’s contract with Barcelona is still valid and the league will not allow the transfer of the Argentine to any other club unless the EUR 700 million release clause is paid.
Messi stunned the entire world as he earlier asked Barcelona to allow him to leave for free, as per a clause in his contract, and even didn’t attend the PCR test conducted by the club on Sunday.
“In compliance with the applicable rule, La Liga will not approve a request to be de-registered as a player with the Spanish football federation, unless the amount in the release clause has been paid,” La Liga said in a statement.
Messi was due at Barcelona’s training ground at 10:15 am local time on Sunday but didn’t arrive, clearing the air that he is serious about leaving the club. Reportedly, his father Jorge Messi is due to arrive in Barcelona this week in a bid to have discussions with club president Josep Bartomeu.
Messi’s decision to leave Barcelona, his lifelong club, came after the Blaugrana’s humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League 2019-20 quarter-final.
However, as reported by many media outlets, Messi’s EUR 700 million release clause has expired after the completion of 2019-20 season and the six-time Ballon d’Or winner is clear to leave for free. But the left-footed maestro wants to compensate the club he loves and favourites to sign him, Man City are willing to offer around EUR 100-150 million for him.
Reportedly, Messi wants a winning project again and believes re-uniting with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City will fulfill his dream of lifting the UEFA Champions League again.