“Going for it” by Krister462 is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Lionel Messi won’t be leaving Barcelona after all. If you think that was his choice, you’d be wrong. If you think he’s happy about how this scenario has played out, again the answer would be no, he isn’t the least bit enthralled by the outcome.
The legendary Argentinian star will be spending one more season at Nou Camp and while that news may bring delight to the supporters of Barcelona, let’s be clear about this from the outset – this is not what Messi wanted. He sought to get out and is being held by the Spanish side against his will.
Like Samantha Eggar in The Collector, Barcelona is filling the role of Terence Stamp, keeping their prized possession locked away in their figurative basement. Messi is playing James Caan to Barcelona’s Kathy Bates in Misery. Only instead of his legs, it’s his heart that’s been broken.
Barcelona fans best hope that Messi’s will has not also been shattered.
Own Goal
Messi spilled the beans to Ruben Uria of Goal in an interview he recorded late last week. It was his desire to leave Barcelona, he allowed. And it was the club that slammed the door shut on his choice, utilizing a contract technicality to keep him on their roster.
“When I communicated my wish to leave to my wife and children, it was a brutal drama,” Messi told Goal. “The whole family began crying, my children did not want to leave Barcelona, nor did they want to change schools.
“But I looked further afield and I want to compete at the highest level, win titles, compete in the Champions League. You can win or lose in it, because it is very difficult, but you have to compete.
“At least compete for it and let us not fall apart in Rome, Liverpool, Lisbon. All that led me to think about that decision that I wanted to carry out.”
No Presidential Pardon
“File:’Bo per el Barça’, el lema de la candidatura de Josep Maria Bartomeu.jpg” by Roderic Alves is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
Messi went on to pin the finger of blame for the mess that he finds himself in the middle of directly at the feet of Barcelona club president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
“I thought and was sure that I was free to leave,” Messi explained. “The president always said that at the end of the season I could decide if I stayed or not.”
Instead, Messi was informed that his contract stated that he must make a formal request for a transfer prior to June 10. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown that paused all soccer seasons, La Liga competition was still underway at that time.
Just as transfer windows were moved to accommodate the schedule revisions, Messi assumed contract terms will also be adjusted to reflect this unique scenario.
Barcelona opted to stick to their guns and stick it to their best player.
“Now they cling to the fact that I did not say it before June 10, when it turns out that on June 10 we were competing for La Liga in the middle of this awful coronavirus and this disease altered all the season,” a dejected Messi said.
Limited Options
Messi could’ve chosen to fight Barcelona in court but insisted that he treasured the club and its supporters too much to ever put them through such a trial.
“I would never go to court against Barca because it is the club that I love, which gave me everything since I arrived,” Messi said. “It is the club of my life, I have made my life here.
“Barca gave me everything and I gave it everything. I know that it never crossed my mind to take Barca to court.”
Surprisingly, Barcelona are the +175 favorites at online sports betting sites to regain the La Liga crown in 2021 in what figures to be Messi’s swan song with the club.
It must be asked though – as Barca seeks to battle back after what was by their standards a dreadful campaign – a stunning 8-2 setback to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, loss of the La Liga title to rivals Real Madrid and defeat to Athletic Bilbao in the Copa Del Ray quarter-finals – was it wise to devastate the world’s best goal scorer and then ask him to lead you back to glory?
