Lionel Messi is to end his 21-year career with Barcelona after the Argentine superstar and the Spanish giants were unable to overcome “economic and structural obstacles” to a new deal.
The announcement on Thursday that a player widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time is on the market will spark a scramble for his signature, with wealthy Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City potentially in the frame.
Messi has played 788 games for the club — a Barcelona record — and won 35 trophies in a glittering career in Spain.
Photo: AP
Barcelona had been expected to announce that the 34-year-old six-time Ballon d’Or winner would stay, but in a statement the club said negotiations had broken down.
“Although an agreement has been reached between FC Barcelona and Leo Messi it cannot be formalized due to economic and structural obstacles,” the statement said. “Faced with this situation, Lionel Messi will not be staying at Barcelona. Both sides deeply regret that the wishes of both the player and the club cannot come true.”
Messi himself has yet to comment, possibly suggesting that there might be another twist in the saga.
The Argentina forward last month finally landed a major international trophy with his nation when they beat rivals Brazil to win the Copa America, but there had been doubts over his future at Barcelona ever since he tried to leave in August last year as a free agent, citing a clause in his contract.
In a bitter standoff between player and club, Messi bemoaned that Barca had had “no project or anything for a long time,” but eventually agreed to line up for another year when the club threatened to take the issue to court.
The man who signed his first contract with Barcelona in 2000 on a napkin when he was just 13 has been a free agent since June 30 when his old agreement expired.
There had been speculation that Messi would sign on for two years and then head over the Atlantic to Major League Soccer, although his former Barca teammate Neymar has said he would love to team up with him again at PSG.
In the background looms Barcelona’s debts of hundreds of millions of euros, putting the club under pressure to reduce the wage bill.
La Liga in 2013 introduced so-called financial “fair play” regulations setting a maximum amount of money each club can spend on its playing squad and coaching staff each season, conditioned by annual income.
Spanish media this year reported that Barca paid Messi 555 million euros (US$656 million) over four seasons from November 2017 to the end of last month.
Separately, Manchester City on Thursday announced the signing of “natural talent” Jack Grealish on a six-year deal from Aston Villa for a British record fee reported to be ￡100 million (US$139 million).
City confirmed Grealish would wear the No. 10 shirt, which was vacated by the departure to Barcelona of striker Sergio Aguero.
“I am incredibly happy to have joined Manchester City. City are the best team in the country with a manager considered to be the best in the world — it’s a dream come true to be part of this club,” 25-year-old Grealish said.
The fee shattered the previous British record of ￡89 million paid by Manchester United to sign Paul Pogba from Juventus in 2016.
City are reported to have activated a clause in Grealish’s contract that compelled Villa to accept their offer when it reached ￡100 million.
Having graduated from Villa’s youth academy, Grealish has spent his entire career at the club he supported as a boy, apart from a loan spell at Notts County in the 2013-2014 season. He has made 213 appearances for Villa since his debut in 2014, scoring 32 goals and laying on 43 assists.
The Villa captain’s four appearances for England during their run to the Euro 2020 final last month gave a glimpse of the quality that convinced City manager Pep Guardiola to make his move.
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