- Barcelona captain Lionel Messi’s current deal with the club expires in 2021 and reports from Europe state that he has changed his mind about staying at the Camp Nou.
Messi joined Barca in 2017 and has been in talks with his father Jorge over renewing his last deal with the club. He seems to have made up his mind about leaving the squad.
Reports state Messi’s anger concerning leaked media reports that appeared to make him seem responsible for events at the club, such as the January sacking of coach Ernesto Valverde reason as the reason for refusing the new deal. In a nutshell, he is frustrated.
The Argentine’s representatives and Barcelona did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The 33- year-old has had a stunning career in recent years. The forward attained a new milestone last month scoring his 700th career goal on Tuesday against Atletico Madrid. Although Barca’s attempt to retain the Spanish title ended up in a disappointment as the game ended in a 2-2 draw.
The Catalans trail Real Madrid by four points in the title race with five games left following Real victory 1-0 over Getafe on Thursday.
Messi started his football career as a very calm and shy guy and he has made it to the top list of the club’s legendary players and it is noteworthy that he was more vocal in his criticism of the club in the last year.
In January he denounced the sporting director Eric Abidal, who he said had implied players had led to Valverde being sacked.
His desire for trophies is the reason he declared the team was not good enough to win this season’s Champions League in a February interview with newspaper Mundo Deportivo.
His latest victim is the board whom he criticized in April for implying players were not willing to accept a pay-cut to help the team’s financial difficulties during the coronavirus pandemic.
