Lionel Messi has not turned up to his scheduled PCR tests at Barcelona this morning and insists that he is no longer part of the club.
The Argentine had been scheduled to show up at the club’s facilities on Sunday morning along with all the coaching staff and his teammates, but he was not present and his representatives claim he is no longer a Blaugrana player.
Así fue la mañana en la que Messi consumó su divorcio del Barcelona. Llega Koeman, Busquets, VIdal y Suárez @ElTransistorOC @OndaCero_es pic.twitter.com/7zQy111pj7
— Alfredo Martínez (@Alfremartinezz) August 30, 2020
Messi é aguardado neste momento no CT do Barcelona, mas não irá fazer os exames da pré-temporada.
Não vai porque já enviou um comunicado oficial ao Barcelona dizendo que deixa de ser jogador do clube, apoiando-se na cláusula de rescisão unilateral.
— Marcelo Bechler (@marcelobechler) August 30, 2020
The 33-year-old has a clause in his deal allowing him to leave at the end of any season, and whilst it was thought that deadline passed in June, Marca have reported his camp believe that it has been extended in line with the prolonged 2019/20 season.
The legalities of Messi’s contractual situation are set to now play a key role with reports claiming his €700m release clause at the club is no longer valid.
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu and the current board of the Catalan giants are said to be insistent they will not allow their superstar to leave as a free agent and they will only be prepared to meet with the player to discuss a new contract.
Messi has scored a scarcely believable 634 goals in 731 official appearances for Barcelona, but his time at the club now appears to be up and his future will now dominate Barcelona transfer news this summer.
