After Barcelona club president Josep Maria Bartomeu finally
broke his silence and expressed his willingness to give up the
presidency of the Catalan club in exchange for the survival of
Lionel Messi, exciting developments followed the case of the
departure of the legendary star that shook the world of football.
A few days ago, there was no voice above Messi’s “bomb” that
he detonated when his lawyers sent a request to leave the Catalan club
after nearly 19 years inside the Camp Nou walls, since a 13-year-old came to him.
Amidst an avalanche of reports and rumors about the next destination,
and conversations about millions that will be put in place in order to
bring in what many see as the best player in the history of football,
it does not seem that the Barcelona administration will take over easily.
On Friday, the newspaper “AS” quoted Catalan sources as saying
that Bartomeu refuses to sit with Messi at the negotiating table
to discuss the issue of his departure, and that he is willing to sit
with him only “in order to renew his contract” with the team.
According to “AS”, the Barcelona administration still considers
the “flea” the cornerstone of the Dutch coach Ronald Koeman’s
project, which was brought in after the scandal of losing to
Bayern Munich 2-8 in the Champions League quarter-finals,
when the former coach, Quique Setien, was quickly ousted.
As news spread about ending his “Camp Nou” story, fans in
Barcelona came out to demand Messi stay, while the streets of
the Argentine city of Rosario, his hometown, were crowded
with hundreds of fans wanting to return to the “Newell’s Old
Boys” childhood club, which seems unexpected now. Although
Messi has repeatedly indicated his desire to play for the team before retiring.
According to “AS”, Messi insists on leaving based on the terms
of his contract that allow him to leave the Camp Nou free of
charge during the current “Mercato summer”, while Barcelona
administration refuses to do so, and confirms that these terms
were only in effect until June 10, and according to that interpretation,
Messi can Leave only if he pays the penalty clause in his contract,
which is worth 700 million euros.
