Lionel Messi is officially no longer a Barcelona player. His 4-year contract worth an estimated £492 million expired on the 30th of June 2021, leaving Messi without a club for the time being.
Messi’s desire to leave Barcelona in the summer of 2020 was no secret, with clubs such as PSG and Manchester City closely linked to the Argentinian superstar. However, 12 months on, and his future is still up in the air with no contract agreement made with FC Barcelona yet over his future.
Will Messi leave Barcelona?
As of today, Messi is completely free to join any club he wants in world football. Messi is currently in Brazil, playing in Copa America and has given no indication of what the future holds for him.
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Messi didn’t appear in any of the squad photos during Barcelona’s kit launch on June 15th and the signing of Memphis Depay could be considered as a contingency plan if Messi looks to leave the club.
However, the news coming out of Barcelona suggests that the Catalan club are on the verge of signing a new two-year contract with Messi. According to reports, there are still some finer details of the contract that are yet to be finalised – including tax and payments structures – but it is unlikely that Messi will join another club.
The new deal will see the 34-year-old reduce his wages over the next two years but commit to a long-term ambassadorship with the club that would continue to benefit him financially, long after his retirement.
What has Messi said?
Messi is yet to give any public interviews but is said to be happier at the club under new president Joan Laporta as opposed to his rocky relationship with ex-president Josep Maria Bartomeu. Messi enjoyed a stellar season with Barcelona, scoring two goals in the Copa Del Rey Final. However, Barcelona bottled the league title towards the back end of the season and were knocked out of the Champions League in the round of 16 by PSG.
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Nevertheless, Messi seems to have built a strong relationship on the pitch with Barcelona’s next generation of stars – Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Ansu Fati – and it seems like a matter of time before Barcelona announce his extension. But in the world of football, anything is possible, and a few clubs could see this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of signing the best player in the world “for free”.
[Image Credit: FC Barcelona]
Shivaan Shah