Messi vs Barca still a stalemate

Barcelona, Sept. 3: Lionel Messi’s future at Barcelona looked no closer to being resolved after the first meeting between the player’s father and club officials ended without an agreement, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed, on the condition of anonymity.

The person said club president Josep Bartomeu on Wednesday met for more than 90 minutes with Jorge Messi to discuss the the Argentina star’s request to leave the club, but that neither part made any concessions.

Lionel last week told the club that he wanted to leave the club and invoked a contract clause that allowed him to leave for free at the end of the season.

But Barcelona claimed the clause expired in June and said he must see out his contract until June 2021, unless the buyout clause of 700 million euros (USD 837 million) is paid.

Also in the meeting were Barcelona official Javier Bordas and Messi’s brother, Rodrigo.

A lawyer for the Messi family was also present. In what was described as a cordial meeting, all parts made their positions clear

● Despite 90 minutes of meeting between Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu and Jorge Messi, Lionel’s father-cum-agent, there was no clear picture on whether the Argentine would leave the Catalans this season or not.

Jorge Messi said the player wants to leave and Barcelona said it will not accept his transfer request.

No other meeting was immediately scheduled, and the next steps were unclear. Barcelona has said it still hopes Lionel could change his mind.

In addition to meeting with Messi’s father, Barcelona said it also wanted to meet personally with the player to try to change his mind about leaving. The club said it has been doing everything to try to convince Messi to finish his career at the club where he started nearly 20 years ago. Lionel Messi hasn’t met with club officials since announcing his decision to leave. —