The Best Player on the Planet has decided his future and Barcelona remains to be the first priority despite being linked to moves away to Manchester City.
Lionel Messi has made a dramatic U-turn and will now don the colours of Blaugrana for the 2020-21 season, which is the last year in his contract.
The Barcelona captain stunned the world in August when he announced he wanted to leave the Camp Nou this summer after a trophyless season for the Laliga giants.
After 2 weeks of Chaos all aroung the Footballing circuit, Messi annouced his desire to continue for the Catalans.
Messi had believed he could quit the Nou Camp on a free thanks to a recission clause but Barca, backed by La Liga, argued that it has expired and that any club in the world would have to pay £623million (€700m) to activate his release clause and sign him.
“When I communicated my wish to leave to my wife and children, it was a brutal drama,” Messi told Goal.com in an exclusive interview.
“The whole family began crying, my children did not want to leave Barcelona, nor did they want to change schools.
There was only one way out if Messi was to leave: taking Barcelona to court. But the six-time Ballon d’Or winner refuses to take that route, and so will remain at the club for another 10 months.
“There was another way and it was to go to trial,” he added. “I would never go to court against Barca because it is the club that I love, which gave me everything since I arrived. It is the club of my life, I have made my life here. Barca gave me everything and I gave it everything. I know that it never crossed my mind to take Barca to court.”
Yet voicing his grievances with Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu, the 33-year-old said, “I told the club, including the president, that I wanted to go. I’ve been telling him that all year. I believed it was time to step aside.”
“It did not come because of the Champions League result against Bayern, no – I had been thinking about the decision for a long time.”
“I told the president and, well, the president always said that at the end of the season I could decide if I wanted to go or if I wanted to stay and in the end he did not keep his word.”
Despite his unhappiness, Messi insists he will give his all for Barcelona under new coach Ronald Koeman.
“My attitude is not going to change, no matter how much I have wanted to go. I will do my best. I always want to win, I am competitive and I don’t like to lose ever.”
The Six time Ballon d’Or winner broke his silence and has decided to dedicate his future to Barcelona and this came in as an huge relief for the Barcelona fans but as an heartbreak for Manchester City fans.