[OLD NEWS] Messi hands in Barcelona transfer request

[Kyng]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/53911105

Forward Lionel Messi has asked to leave Spanish giants Barcelona this summer.

The Argentina international, 33, sent a fax to the club on Tuesday saying he wishes to exercise a clause in his contract, allowing him to leave for free with immediate effect.

Barca were beaten 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals on 16 August.

The six-time Ballon d'Or winner made his debut for Barca in 2004 and has won the Champions League four times.

Barcelona, though, believe the clause has now expired and Messi is contracted to the club until 2021 with a 700m euro buy-out clause.

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Sad to see such a long and successful relationship coming to an end like this . However, Barcelona have become a real mess lately, so it's hardly surprising that he wants out.

I wonder where he'll go next?

[Jarkko]

Wow. I have to admit I did not see this coming.

I wonder if he'll go back to Argentina, or maybe to England. I'd obviously love to see him with Spurs, but I don't think that's gonna happen

[Kyng]

I'm not sure. I remember he planned to end his career in Argentina; however, at 33 years old, he's probably not at the end of his career just yet, so there's still plenty of him to go somewhere else, then go to Argentina.

As for where, I saw that people on Twitter wanted Manchester City to snap him up. I'm not sure how serious or realistic that idea is, though .

[J-Ster]

I did not see that coming. I think he'll likely go to a Serie A team.

[Pyrite]

Honestly, Manchester City isn't that unrealistic a destination when you realise how many people who work there have a history with Messi. Besides a few of the staff members, there's obviously the manager, Pep Guardiola, who oversaw Barcelona's most dominant spell in recent memory. And Messi is also good friends with Sergio Aguero, who is one of Manchester City's stalwarts. Plus, they are one of the only clubs in the world who could actually afford his wages.

I reckon either it'll end up being a power play to force major changes at Barcelona, or he'll go to Man City for the reasons above, PSG to link up with Neymar again or Inter Milan to face Ronaldo one last time.

[Kyng]

Yeah, there have been some serious noises (i.e. not just on Twitter) about a possible move to Man City in recent days. However, he now seems to be considering staying on at Barcelona, following a meeting between the club's president and his father:

https://metro.co.uk/2020/09/03/lionel-me...-13217605/

He could still leave at the end of next system: his current contract expires, and he'd then be able to move to Man City on a free transfer. But then, Barcelona might have been able to start turning things around by then... so, who knows?

[Kyng]

Well now, it's emerged that Messi is going to stay on at Barcelona for another year, but only to avoid a legal dispute:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/202...out-clause

I have to say, I have a bad feeling about this. Messi's not going to be motivated, so he'll just end up phoning it in for this final season - and that's not good for him or for Barcelona .

[Kyng]

Seems he's not yet sure where he'll go when his contract runs out next June. However, he's interested in playing in the USA:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55464842

Wouldn't be the most surprising move ever, since quite a lot of top players have gone there late in their careers. However, with Bartomeu gone, perhaps he'll be tempted to stay at Barcelona?