Argentine superstar, Lionel Messi, has reluctantly decided that he has to stay at Barcelona for another year to see out his contract and leave on a free next summer, according to reports out of Spain and Argentina.
This is following on from an earlier statement credited to his father and agent, Jorge Messi disputing the validity of the release clause in his contract which according to Barcelona and the Spanish La Liga stands at 700 million Euros.
The decision to stay is due to the stage of the dispute between Barcelona and its greatest ever player is at with the player said to be reluctant to take the case to court with the club unwilling to accept his departure on a free transfer despite the fact he thinks he is right.
The sticking point being Barcelona’s belief that the release clause is still valid having not received any notice from Messi of his decision to leave on a free by June ending as stipulated in his contract with the player insisting that hos contract said end of 2019-2020 season and not June.
With the Covid19 pandemic forcing the season to end later than usual he believes his decision to leave on a free is still legally valid but this according to the Sky sports news Gary Cotterill may prevent him from leaving as Barcelona still insist on a big pay out if he leaves.
He is expected to speak in a few hours to a issue a statement and also speak in an interview with a local journalist in Catalonia.
The new season promises to be an interesting one for Barcelona and its greatest ever player if he indeed ends up staying as he will be playing for a coach and president he does not like nor want to play for.
