Lionel Messi‘s future is at Barcelona, with the exit clause from his current contract the club expiring on 30th May, as per Sky Sports. The clause stipulated that Messi could leave for free this summer if he wanted to.
There have been a lot of rows between the players and the members of the club’s management this season. This has happened in the backdrop of the tensions rising with the Barcelona presidential elections scheduled later this year.
Disagreements with the club members’ hierarchy have disturbed many of the club’s influential players including Messi. The differences have been mainly regarding transfer decisions and club philosophy.
Lionel Messi’s Future Is at Barcelona as Exit Clause in His Contract Expires
The Exit Clause and Its Effects
In 2017, Messi signed his latest contract with the Blaugranes. The contract runs until the end of the next season in 2021.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner specifically had an exit clause added within the contract allowing him to leave the club for free at the end of any season. This exit clause was active from 2018 to 2020.
The clause expired last week on the 30th of May and the Cules from Catalonia could breathe a sigh of relief now.
Barca Want to Reward Messi With a ‘Lifetime Contract’
While Messi’s contract ends next year and currently there is no news revolving around an extension, the La Liga club are expecting him to stay beyond the contract for ‘5 years or more’.
There have also been rumours that the current president Josep Maria Bartomeu might reward their best ever player with a ‘lifetime contract’. This could see him end his career at the Camp Nou. But, the Barcelona President’s words only suggested this in a symbolic sense; “after Messi finishes his career as a footballer he will remain linked to this club for the rest of his life.”
Furthermore, there are two hindrances to Messi accepting this so-called ‘lifetime contract’. Firstly, the attacker has always been vocal about finishing his career back in his home country Argentina. The other reason being the tensions rising around the club with respect to the Presidential elections.
The choice of Barcelona’s next president could have a huge bearing on their most successful player’s decision of staying at the club after 2021 or not.
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