Lionel Messi ‘will report for Barcelona training next Monday’ with Argentine’s representatives ‘keen to avoid giving the club a legal edge by staying away’ as he bids to force a Nou Camp exit
- Lionel Messi will continue to train at Barcelona after submitting transfer request
- The 33-year-old has triggered a clause in his contract to leave Barca for free
- Barcelona claim the Argentine has no right to be released from his current deal
- Messi’s lawyers have reportedly told him to train to avoid losing legal advantage
Lionel Messi is expected to report for Barcelona training on Monday, even though the Argentine has expressed his desire to move away from the Nou Camp this summer.
The 33-year-old handed in a transfer request after new Barca manager Ronald Koeman told him his ‘privileges in the squad were over’, but Messi reportedly plans to attend training from August 31 in hope of avoiding a legal dispute with the club.
Messi believes he has a clause in his contract allowing him to move for free provided he informed the club he wanted to leave 20 days prior to June 10 – which was initially the end of season date.
Lionel Messi is set to continue training with Barcelona despite handing in a transfer request
The player’s legal advisers are however arguing that he should have had an extended period to indicate he wanted out as the ‘end of the season’ given the final of the Champions League between Bayern Munich and PSG had not taken place until August 23.
However, TyC Sports claim Messi will turn up at training for the time being to avoid giving the club an advantage in any future legal proceedings.
In the meantime, Koeman will decide whether the club captain will train with the first team or on his own while the situation is resolved.
Messi submitted an official transfer request after showdown talks with boss Ronald Koeman
Messi is desperate for a new challenge but realises few clubs will be able to finance a move for him and so is exploring the possibility of departing for free despite having one year left on his deal.
Messi’s fixed salary totals £64million (€71m) but bonuses for signing, for staying, and for winning trophies takes the figure well above that. Just by playing 60 per cent of games until the 2021 date when his contract ends sees Messi earn on average £95m (€106m) a season. But the potential – if he were to win the treble and win FIFA’s player of the year award – exists to push the final figure over the £110m (€122m) mark.
It is understood Messi only made it clear that he wanted to sign for another club this summer in the days leading up to last Sunday’s final, and Barcelona are confident he would not have a legal case if they denied his exit.
Manchester City, Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain are all thought to be interested in signing the six-time Ballon d’Or winner, but all parties are waiting to see whether he can be released from his contract.
The 33-year-old wants to use a clause in his contract to leave for free but Barca will not allow it
