After releasing his statement to confirm he will stay at Barcelona this season, Lionel Messi has not yet returned to pre-season training with the squad.
The 33-year-old has been at the centre of intense speculation in recent weeks linking him with an exit as it has been reported that he was pushing to leave.
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However, to avoid a legal battle with the club, he has opted to stay and could now wait until next summer to move on depending on how the upcoming campaign goes.
Despite releasing that statement though, Messi has not yet rejoined the rest of the squad as they gear up for the new season, but it’s suggested by AS that he will be back in the fold on Monday.
The Argentine has to undergo testing to green light his return due to coronavirus protocols, and that was expected to take place on Saturday.
Barcelona have the day off on Sunday, and so it’s now likely that he will resume normal service by showing up on Monday with the possibility that he is tested at home over the weekend.
Time will tell if everything now goes smoothly or not, but the Argentine has seemingly decided to avoid further drama and stay for another year, and so it would come as no surprise if he was back training with his teammates next week and preparing to feature in the pre-season games rather than drag on his dispute further and let it become a distraction with the new La Liga season fast approaching.