Messi’s record transfer to Man City now imminent

Coast seems to be clearer for Lionel Messi’s exit from Barcelona as his father and agent, Jorge Messi, flew to Barcelona on Wednesday and held talks with club president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, in an attempt to persuade the club to release Messi.

The positions of the two parties are clear. On one side, Messi wants to leave Barcelona and believes he can legally do so for free during the current transfer window. On the other hand, Barcelona don’t want to lose him and insist that his 700 million euro (€700m) release clause remains valid.

When asked about his son’s situation, he curtly replied: “I don’t know anything”. He later voiced out: “It’s difficult, it’s difficult that he will stay at Barcelona”.

Reports in Spain say Messi has agreed a five-year deal worth €700m with the Manchester City Football Group (CFG), which owns Manchester City.

Messi, 33 and six-time Ballon d’or winner has requested to leave Barcelona, where he has spent his entire professional career. He was reportedly absent from Barcelona’s pre-season testing on Sunday as the forward continues to try to engineer a move away from the club.

First-team players were due to attend coronavirus testing ahead of a return to training from Monday as preparations for the 2020-21 season gets underway.

Messi, for his part, is said to think the clause in his contract that allows him to leave for nothing at the end of each season is still valid given the 2019-20 campaign was prolonged by the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the board and president Josep Maria Bartomeu consider the clause to have expired and are thought to be unwilling to countenance selling Messi unless his €700 million buyout fee is met.

Speaking at the presentation of Francisco Trincao, sporting director Ramon Planes insisted they wanted to keep Messi and rebuild the team around him under new head coach Ronald Koeman.

“You have to have enormous respect for Leo because of what he is and because of his history. We are not thinking about any contractual clause,” he said.

“Messi’s marriage to Barca has given both parties a lot, much joy to the fans and internally we are working to convince Messi, to find the best solution for Barca and for Messi.

“Barca has rebuilt itself many times throughout its history and has always come back strong. Our idea is to do it around the best player in the world.”