Ramon Besa of El Pais recently reported
that there is a clause in Lionel Messi's contract with Barcelona - which runs
until 2021 - that says he is free to walk away from Barcelona at the end of any
given season. This information has been confirmed by Goal.com. Carles Puyol,
Xavi and Andres Iniesta all had similar clauses in their contracts during their
final years at the club.
World Cup-winning defender Gerard Pique revealed he was
aware of the clause but doesn't think Messi would be leaving Barcelona anytime
soon. He told Cadena Ser, "I already knew Messi is able to
leave for free at the end of each season. “But we all know the commitment
Leo has to Barca and it doesn't worry me at all. He's earned the right to be
able to choose what he does with his future after everything he's given the
club.”
32-year-old Messi made his senior Barcelona debut at the age
of 17, in 2004. Since then, he has won 10 La Liga titles and four UEFA
Champions Leagues with Barcelona, among others, successfully establishing
himself as the club's most important player.
Club president Josep Maria Bartomeu however intends to renew
Messi's contract. He told ESPN in April, “We want him to have a really
long career so we can keep on enjoying him.
“Lionel's managed to break down borders. Everyone admires
him and he's applauded at other stadiums by rival fans.
“We would like to renew his contract, that's the idea. He is
young - you can see that [in his performances] - and he still has two years on
his deal.
“He's always improving, always innovating. I believe he
still has many years in front of him and in the coming months we will sit down
with him so that he has many more years at Barcelona.
“Messi is a one-club man. It's more than what he does on the
pitch - his relationship with Barca will last forever.
“I use the example of Pele, who was always at Santos.
We want Messi to always be at Barca, whether that's playing or linked to the
club [when he's retired].”
Messi has often expressed his desire to play at Newell's Old
Boys - a club in his native Argentina - before retiring as a player. He
told El Trece back in May 2018, “I’m increasingly sure
that in Europe, Barcelona will be my only club.
“I always said I wanted to play in Argentine football one
day, I don’t know if it will happen but I have it in my mind.
“It would be at Newell’s, nowhere else. I would like to do
that for at least six months, but you never know what will happen.”
Websites consulted: ESPN, Bleacher Report and Goal
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