LEO STAYER! €700m CLAUSE LEAVES HIM FUMING

LIONEL Messi performed an incredible climbdown yesterday, admitting defeat in his attempt to force a move to Manchester City. The 33-year-old confirmed he was staying at Barcelona until the end of the forthcoming season because the club had blocked his transfer by insisting on demanding his astronomical release clause was met. ‘I am going to continue at this club because the president has told me the only way I can leave is if I pay the €700million and that is impossible,’ he said. ‘The only other way was to go to court and I would never take Barcelona to court because I love the club. The president always said that at the end of the season I could decide if I wanted to go or if I wanted to stay and in the end he did not keep his word.’ Messi appeared to be willing to fight on yesterday when his father Jorge issued a statement that appeared to quote directly from his contract stating: ‘The release clause will not apply after the end of the 2019-20 season.’ The statement criticised La Liga for supporting

Barcelona’s right to demand €700m for his sale and condemned the Spanish league’s ‘obvious lack of impartiality’. But that was the last shot fired before the white flag was raised. La Liga responded by accusing Messi of having taken the clause out of context. Messi told new coach Ronald Koeman he wanted to leave Barca two weeks ago. Five days later he sent the club a burofax informing them that he believed he was a free agent having officially triggered a clause in his contract. The club insisted Messi had missed a June 10 deadline to exercise it. Messi said in an interview with website Goal last night: ‘We were sure I was a free agent. The president always said at the end of the season I could decide if I wanted to stay or not. And now they hold on to the fact that I did not say it before June 10. But in June we were still competing in La Liga in the middle of this f ****** virus. That had changed all the dates.’ Messi denied the 8-2 defeat by Bayern Munich triggered his desire to leave but said years of Champions League failure and mismanagement pushed him to try to force his way out of the club.