And on a free too. He'll be off to PSG if he leaves. Easy league were he'll score for fun, huge payday and a chance at winning the Champions League
Barcelona claim the clause which allowed him to leave with immediate effect has expired. Some fun and games coming up. "A legal battle is now set to follow between the club and the player. Messi had a clause in his contract which allowed him to leave for free, if he informed the club of his desire before 10 June. That date has now passed so Barca believe the clause has expired but Messi and his team feel it should be extended to cover the prolonged season - which ran until August due to the coronavirus pandemic." Agree with Messi myself. What, he's meant to inform them he wants to leave before the season ended?
Most contracts have various force Majeure for season extensions,illness, etc.. I think he'll walk without a fee.
While Messi obviously wants to go to a team ready to win now. I dont think Liverpool will be his destination. If Messi goes to Liverpool, he will have to battle to start at just about any position he plays. With his advanced age, I dont see him able to develop enough to over take Salah, Firmino, Shaqiri, Origi, or Brewster. Messi will need to go to a team where his starting role and play time are guaranteed. Clubs like PSG, Manchester City, Manchester United, Everton, Barcelona, and Dulwich Hamlet would be able to offer him these guarantees. My sources tell me Messi has been texting Klopp directly from Andy Robertson’s pocket. But Klopp is just screen shotting them all and sending them to the teams Whatsapp group chat and adding puke emojis to the message. So for these reasons, I do not think Liverpool will sign Lionel Messi before the start of next season.
If he goes for free then i'd ****ing love to see him in the PL, sadly though, our weather is shit and our country is a shithole.
Don't care which club he goes to, just want to watch the magician play. It'll be great to watch him play a different style of football.
Sabre rattling to get a new contract, he'll retire at Barca despite whatever he says. Shades of his international retirement debacle all over again.
Does anybody else think it is a bit rich of him? My understanding is that Barca basically made him, and he has been part of their downfall in terms of being part of a poor sporting direction transfer policy and having sway with the president. In other words, he has zero loyalty towards taking any responsibility or rebuilding a poor Barca team. That is probably what Maradona is referring to in terms of a true exceptional level of leadership.
It will be City which is a joke because they should be transfer banned but hey ho the rich get richer.
It is probably just Messi going to war with the board, to force them out. However, there is a slight chance he genuinely wants a new challenge. He might feel it's very possible that in the final 3-4 years of his career Barcelona will struggle to win anything as they go through a big transition, for a 33-year-old, a transitioning club is not really the place you want to be. He's achieved absolutely everything at Barca and tbh the board should be gracefully letting him move on if that's what he wants, consdering what he has done for them.
I get what you are saying Andrew but on the flip side what he they done for him. Took him from Argrntina, paid for his growth hormones, which he probably wouldn't have had or certainly not the medical care he had, paid him a kings ransom, pandered his every need, surrounded him with top players, etc. Works both ways. Gotta say be interesting to see him play for someone else though, i genuinely hope it happens.
There are only 2 clubs in Europe who have the financial backing and the will to pay the sort of money Messi will want - so it's either PSG or Man City and my gut says that PSG getting to the CL final last season might just give Messi the feeling that he could win the big one a final time. Of course, looking further afield, the Chinese clubs will also undoubtedly throw some offers his way
