Lionel Messi is one of the best and most talented football players in the history of the sport. He started playing football professionally at the age of 13. It is very impressive that at that age, he showed promise and skill that most adults didn’t have at the time. His competitive career skyrocketed at the age of 17 and he started his career playing for the Barcelona club. His success over the years is beyond comprehension and he established himself as the all-time best scorer for the Barcelona club.

However, times change and some football players like to move on to newer places for different challenges.  Rumors and different headlines have spread across the web about Messi’s decision to leave Barcelona. Read on to learn if those rumors are true and if he is planning to leave Barcelona for Manchester City.

The Wish to Be Transferred

Lionel wished to be transferred because he desired to leave the Barcelona club for good. It was shocking to hear the news that the transfer wasn’t a sale but was Messi’s decision from the start of the year. He opened up about his desire and how he sent in the official documents where he expressed his need to leave Barca. This was a tough time for the club to receive the official documents and his request because they just suffered a loss in the Champions League quarter finals. Rumors were spreading that it wasn’t Messi’s decision at first and it was a sale/trade deal between Barcelona and another club. But those rumors were debunked by Messi himself and he explained that he wanted to leave for something new after two decades in the same club.   

The Aftermath

After Messi came out publicly, the aftermath of his decision sets the sports world ablaze because so many fans were spreading continuous rumors. Everyone was convinced that it was a done deal and that Messi is officially leaving and would join Manchester City. The football fanatics at www.ronaldo.com were supplying fans with several sports news on the matter of Messi leaving Barca or not. This is one of the most interesting and exciting topics in the sports world this year because no one expected Messi to want to leave the club at all after so many years. Fans were shocked to hear that this decision was on his mind for over a year and that he wasn’t happy in Barca anymore.

Legal Complications

Unfortunately for Lionel, his decision had legal complications that he wasn’t expecting. Messi came forward and asked to leave for free according to his free transfer clause in his contract, but there might be a legal dispute over that clause because the club had other plans. The club’s leadership and management team stated that Messi’s clause to transfer for free wasn’t valid anymore because it expired in June of 2020. This came as a shock because Lionel wasn’t aware of this expiration date and the Covid-19 pandemic caused several problems to the league and the football association. Barcelona has stated that the only way for Messi to leave was if another club paid 700 million euros for him. This is a huge problem and it is unlikely that Manchester City would pay that much for Lionel.  

Reversing His Decision

Lionel was forced to reverse his decision because he was backed into a corner with the legal disputes that halted his move to another football club. Messi expressed his feelings about the matter and he was disappointed with how Barcelona’s leadership failed to manage the situation and the league itself. Messi claimed that the management led by Josep Bartomeu was a disaster and he wasn’t happy at all. He said that he was forced to stay for another season to avoid any legal problems. Unfortunately, he wasn’t excited or happy about how Bartomeu failed to honor his promise to let Messi go. However, he will still do his best every match.

 

Whether he leaves the Barcelona club or stays, Messi will definitely continue his reign of success no matter where he goes. He continues to show excellence and outstanding performance, even in his thirties. 

 

Messi’s accolades speak for themselves and no one denies that he is one of the best football players of all time. Since he spent his entire football career in Barcelona, he won several trophies and awards. He holds several records when it comes to scoring and he’s one of the best and creative playmakers in the game. Even though his wishes weren’t granted and he is still part of the Barcelona club, no one doubts that he won’t give it his all in the football field and do his best.