Lionel Messi confirms he will stay at Barcelona

Star striker of Barcelona FC, Lionel Messi said that he will remain at Barcelona next season after performing a shock U-turn on his future.

La Liga responded with a statement after Messi’s declaration, reiterating its stance that the €700m release clause needs to be paid in full if the 33-year-old is to be allowed to leave the club. A meeting held between Jorge Messi and FC Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu to try and resolve the future of Lionel Messi ended without an agreement.

The meeting, held late on Wednesday night, finally took place at the end of a day in which Messi’s father – also considered to be his representative – replaced his son as the focus of attention after flying to Barcelona in the early hours of the morning, reports Xinhua news agency.

He was greeted at the airport by the press, while there were also reporters and cameramen waiting at the offices of the Leo Messi Foundation, where he went after leaving the airport.

 “I thought and was sure that I was free to leave, the president always said that at the end of the season I could decide if I stayed or not,” Messi told Goal.

 “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.

 “And this is the reason why I am going to continue in the club. Now I am going to continue in the club because the president told me that the only way to leave was to pay the €700m (£624m) clause, and that this is impossible.”