Lionel Messi made it clear that it was time to move on, seek new challenges, and be happy on another team.
The Argentine star had conquered dozens of titles and set numerous records with FC Barcelona, but he was displeased with the direction the Catalan team was taking, so it was time to try to shine elsewhere.
And even though he was promised that he could leave Barça, he was not allowed to do so. So, he will stay for another year in order to avoid a long legal battle with the "club of my life."
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After ending the uncertainty about his future, Messi announced on Friday that he will continue with FC Barcelona for the next season, despite wanting to change clubs.
Messi made the announcement in a video interview published by Goal.com. He said he wanted to "pursue new goals" in his career but did not want to go to court against the club.
He made it clear that he was not happy with the club's president, Josep Bartomeu, saying that he did not keep his word to let him go at the end of the season.
Messi officially announced his decision to Barcelona 10 days ago, but the team indicated that they wanted him to fulfill his contract, which expires in June 2021. The club asserted that the clause Messi appealed to leave expired on June 10 and said that he had to pay a buyout clause of 700 million euros ($837 million) if he wanted to leave the team now.
"The president always said that at the end of the season I could decide whether I wanted to stay or leave, and in the end he didn't keep his word," Messi said. "The president always told me 'when the season ends, you decide if you stay or leave', he never set a date."
Messi had informed the club about his intention to leave by sending a certified document similar to a telegram.
"Sending the certified document was to make it official that I wanted to leave and that I was free and not going to use the optional year and I wanted to leave. It wasn't to cause a fuss or go against the club," Messi said.
There was no agreement when Messi's father and Bartomeu met on Wednesday to discuss the player's future.
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"I'm going to stay at Barça and my attitude is not going to change no matter how much I wanted to leave," Messi said. "I told the club, especially the president, that I wanted to leave. I've been saying it all year. I thought it was time to step aside. I thought the club needed more young people, new blood, and I thought my time at Barcelona was over, feeling it a lot because I always said that I wanted to finish my career here."
Messi had not made a public statement since the team's 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals on August 14. He said that the defeat, one of the worst of his career, was not what made him make the decision to leave.
"It was a very complicated year, I suffered a lot in training, in matches, and in the dressing room," Messi said. "I always said that I wanted to end here and I always said that I wanted to stay here. I wanted a winning project and to win titles with the club to continue enlarging Barcelona's legend in terms of titles. And the truth is that there has been no project or anything for a while, they are juggling and patching holes as things go by." (D)