The Lionel Messi circus really kicked into overdrive today as we got regular updates about what his Dad was having for lunch, so it’s interesting to see that something unexpected has come out of the talks today.
Everyone was shocked when Messi announced that he wanted to leave Barca and everyone immediately wondered who could afford him, especially when the transfer fee started to become an issue.
Football Espana have reported on the latest with him and they’ve quoted reports from Argentina that state he’s actually now 90% certain to return to the club and fulfil the final year of his contract:
Mañana define leomessi. Pero hay un nuevo escenario: existen chances concretas de que el mejor del mundo siga hasta junio de 2021 y cumpla su contrato.
A esta altura lo está evaluando. Los dirigentes le pidieron por… https://t.co/2EwShAblQ5— Martin Arevalo (@arevalo_martin) September 2, 2020
While that does offer some positive short term news, it sounds like he’s still intent on leaving the club and this will all come around next summer when he does leave as a free agent.
The report alludes to the fact that Messi thought he could leave as a free agent but Barca were adamant that they wanted someone to trigger his €700m release clause, so it does make a transfer almost impossible.
We also have to consider that this could be a smart play from Messi’s side to force Barca into selling him this summer, mainly to ensure that they don’t lose him for nothing.
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If he leaves for free next year it’s much more likely that someone will find a way to finance his wages, so this might end up putting the pressure back on Barca this summer.
It still sounds like he will eventually leave, but it just won’t be until next year.