Lionel Messi has said he is staying at Barcelona because he didn’t want to take the club he loves so much and has spent his entire career to court.
He made this known in a Goal.com interview on Friday. Messi said he had reversed the decision because “he could never go to court against Barcelona” after a row broke out over his contract.
“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,”
“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.” Messi said.
The player, who is regarded by many as the best footballer of all time, also disclosed that when he communicated his decision to leave to his wife and children, it was a brutal drama.
“The whole family began crying, my children did not want to leave Barcelona, nor did they want to change schools. I love Barcelona and I’m not going to find a better place than here anywhere. Still, I have the right to decide. I was going to look for new goals and new challenges. And tomorrow I could go back, because here in Barcelona I have everything” he added.
This decision by Messi will finally dashed Manchester City’s hope that had been linked with trying to sign him.
