Lionel Messi does not intend to wear the Barcelona shirt next season, and this he made clear in a document faxed to the La Liga giants. The Argentine rose to fame with the Catalans in the last 16 years but the trophy-less campaign last season was just too much for him to bear. The Barca captain wants a fresh start.
Camp Nou confirmed on Wednesday that Messi has expressed his desire to leave, and the request was made nearly two weeks after Barcelona's exit from the Champions League's quarterfinal round. The club was booted out, 8-2, by the rampaging Bayern Munich, who eventually captured the 2020 crown.
The humiliation, and perhaps the pile of disappointments from the past, prompted the football superstar to make his next move. He has decided that his playing days will not end with the side that has become synonymous with the Messi brand in the last 10 years.
If the plan to bolt out will materialize in the next few weeks, it will be a big blow to the Spanish side and the club is well aware of that fact. So unsurprisingly, Barcelona will challenge Messi's decision, meaning there will be drama to expect and as reported by the Associated Press, it is going to be ugly.
"The club hinted that a legal battle could be coming and said it won't automatically grant the Argentina great his wishes," said the report.
In fact, the Catalans have already sent word to the Argentine that they don't see him leaving anytime soon. For the club, Messi will see the end of his career at Barcelona, no matter what.
The point of contention between the two parties is a clause on Messi's contract that allows him to walk away for free each summer provided he makes his intention clear before June. Obviously, Barcelona would argue that the clause has expired and will not apply to the prevailing situation.
Yet Messi could counter that the delayed football season made it impossible for him to exercise the same option on time. In the days and weeks to follow, this debate is seen to fuel the legal wrangling that both camps will be generating.
While it might be hard for Barcelona to accept the new reality of Camp Nou without Messi, Graham Hunter of ESPN said that for the sake of football, the 33-year-old superstar should be allowed to leave.
"He should be allowed to go because he deserves to be maximizing his last couple of magnificent years in a competitive, demanding atmosphere," Hunter wrote.
The journalist reminded that only a few years are left for the Argentine and the football world "deserve to see him thriving, happy, devastating, committed, successful and tested for the next three or four years."
Gary Lineker, who played for Barcelona in the late 1990s, thought Barcelona should pave the way for Messi's smooth transition out of the club. Parting ways with a man that made great contributions to the team should not come in the form of a messy legal clash, Lineker said.
