Lionel Messi will 'end his career' at Barcelona, says Bartomeu
There have been speculations that Lionel Messi has decided to leave Barcelona in 2021 after seeing out his contract. Messi was expected to sign an extension that would keep him at the club until at least 2023, however, reports stated that he changed his mind. But now, Barca club president Josep Maria Bartomeu has dismissed the same. Here's what he said regarding Messi.
Messi has explained to us he wants to stay: Bartomeu
Bartomeu said that the club is negotiating contracts with several players and Messi has shown his desire to stay at Barcelona. "We are negotiating with many players but Messi has explained to us he wants to stay," Bartomeu told Spanish network Movistar. "And so we're going to enjoy him for much longer," he added.
The reasons behind Messi's decision to leave Barca
A report in Cadena Ser highlighted that Messi is belived to be unhappy about private information being leaked to the media, that has seen him get blamed for things that aren't his fault. The other reason is the club's poor state of affairs. He is said to be tired of playing for a club that has lacked a winning project for a while now.
Messi and his team-mates were blamed by Abidal
Earlier this season, Messi & Co. were blamed by Eric Abidal for the departure of manager Ernesto Valverde, following the loss to Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup. Messi denied that he had anything to do with the decision starting a war of words with the director of football, Abidal, who was also his former team-mate.
This is what Zidane said about Messi
Real Madrid manager Zidane was asked about his views regarding Messi's departure last week. The Frenchman said he hopes Messi stays at the club as he wants the best players playing in La Liga. "I don't know what will happen but we hope not because he is in this league and we want the best in this league," said Zidane.
Messi has dominated the show in 2019-20
Recently, Messi scored his 700th goal in his professional career. He now has 630 goals for Barcelona in all competitions and 70 for Argentina. The Argentine has amassed 27 goals in all competitions this term, besides accounting for 24 assists. He leads the assists tally in La Liga this campaign (19), besides scoring the most goals (22). He has 441 career La Liga goals.
