Lionel Messi has told Barcelona he wants to leave the club after nearly two decades with the Spanish giants.
The club confirmed to the Associated Press on Tuesday that the Argentina soccer great sent a document expressing his desire to leave.
The announcement comes 11 days after Barcelona’s humiliating 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals, one of the worst defeats in the player’s career and in the club’s history.
The defeat capped a difficult season for Barcelona — the first without a title since 2007-08 — and ignited one of its worst crises ever.
The 33-year-old Messi has won a record six Ballon d’Or awards during his time at Barcelona as the top player in the world, and has helped the club win 10 Spanish league titles and four Champions League crowns.
However, his attempt to exit the club could now lead to a legal battle between the two sides over a clause in his contract.
Soccer
LAFC’s Carlos Vela is out indefinitely with left knee injury
Soccer
LAFC’s Carlos Vela is out indefinitely with left knee injury
LAFC captain Carlos Vela, Major League Soccer’s reigning MVP, has a Grade 2 MCL injury to his left knee. There is no timetable for his return.
Barcelona said the document sent by Messi referenced a clause allowing him to leave for free at the end of the season. However, the club said the deadline for triggering that clause expired in June and that it would seek legal advice. Messi’s contract also includes a 700 million euro ($826 million) buyout clause.
The Spanish season would normally have ended in May but was pushed back because of the coronavirus pandemic.
If Messi can leave for free, he will have no shortage of suitors. However, only a handful of clubs could realistically afford to pay his wages even without a transfer fee — with mega-rich Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City widely seen as perhaps the most likely destinations.
Messi had been outspoken about his dissatisfaction with some of Barcelona’s decisions this season. He had been silent since the loss to Bayern, though, raising doubts about his future.
Club president Josep Bartomeu had said he was confident that Messi would finish his career with Barcelona, and that he was a crucial part of incoming coach Ronald Koeman’s plans for the team.
Koeman met with Messi last week and the player reportedly told the Dutchman that he saw himself more out than in at the club at that moment.
The coach reportedly had already told other key pieces of the squad that they were not in his plans, including Luis Suarez, Arturo Vidal, Samuel Umtiti and Ivan Rakitic.
After the loss to Bayern, Barcelona announced it would make “profound” changes to the first team and a “wide-ranging” restructuring of the club. The changes began with the firing of coach Quique Setien a few days after the Champions League defeat in Portugal, and new presidential elections were called for March.
Messi arrived at Barcelona as a teenager in 2001, joining the club’s famed La Masia youth academy. He first-team debut happened in 2003 as a 16-year-old, and since then he led Barcelona to 34 titles. He holds most individual records at the club, scoring 634 goals and making 276 assists in 731 appearances with the club.
Former Barcelona defender Carles Puyol, who was the club captain during much of Messi’s career, tweeted his support to the Argentine.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
Soccer
Hernández: MLS, TV should take heat for making Galaxy and LAFC play in extreme weather
Soccer
Hernández: MLS, TV should take heat for making Galaxy and LAFC play in extreme weather
MLS didn’t change the time of the LAFC-Galaxy match played in extreme heat because of TV, and everyone paid a price, including the injured Carlos Vela.
Soccer
Galaxy break out of funk by beating rival LAFC, which loses Carlos Vela to injury
Soccer
Galaxy break out of funk by beating rival LAFC, which loses Carlos Vela to injury
The Galaxy dominated rival LAFC 2-0 in an empty Banc of California Stadium. LAFC star Carlos Vela left with what appeared to be a serious knee injury.
Soccer
LAFC fans will still be cheering and chanting even if El Tráfico feels empty
Soccer
LAFC fans will still be cheering and chanting even if El Tráfico feels empty
No fans will attend Saturday’s game between the Galaxy and LAFC, but that isn’t stopping LAFC’s hard-core supporters from broadcasting their passion.
Soccer
El Tráfico: ‘Chicharito’ is out for Galaxy; Carlos Vela returns for LAFC
Soccer
El Tráfico: ‘Chicharito’ is out for Galaxy; Carlos Vela returns for LAFC
Galaxy will be minus Javier “Chicharito” Hernández, LAFC will welcome back Carlos Vela when MLS play returns Saturday in an El Tráfico matchup at an empty Banc of California Stadium. Hernández’s return time uncertain.
California
USC reports ‘alarming increase’ in COVID-19 cases
California
USC reports ‘alarming increase’ in COVID-19 cases
Just a week into fall semester, USC reported that 43 students had tested positive for COVID-19 and more than100 placed in quarantine because of exposure.
California
‘Like Armageddon’: Rotting food, dead animals and chaos at postal facilities amid cutbacks
California
‘Like Armageddon’: Rotting food, dead animals and chaos at postal facilities amid cutbacks
Accounts from employees at California postal facilities provide a glimpse of the chaos amid both the pandemic and widespread cuts imposed by the USPS.
Politics
5 takeaways from the first night of the RNC
Politics
5 takeaways from the first night of the RNC
Dark foreboding, Trump as troll, a more typical roll call — key moments from the RNC’s first night.
Sports
Plaschke: I had COVID-19, and these are the things nobody tells you
Sports
Plaschke: I had COVID-19, and these are the things nobody tells you
L.A. Times sports columnist Bill Plaschke talks about experiencing COVID-19. Yes, he says, it’s really as bad as you’ve heard.
Entertainment & Arts
Column: Dear Kellyanne: I’m so glad you can afford to quit your job amid a crisis you helped create
Entertainment & Arts
Column: Dear Kellyanne: I’m so glad you can afford to quit your job amid a crisis you helped create
Kellyanne Conway is leaving her White House job to focus on her children as they navigate a health and economic crisis she could have helped curb.
Angels
Angels’ starting pitching struggles continue in loss to Astros to open doubleheader
Angels
Angels’ starting pitching struggles continue in loss to Astros to open doubleheader
Starting pitcher Jose Suarez recorded just three outs as the Angels fell to the Houston Astros 6-3 in the first game of a doubleheader Tuesday in Houston.
Chargers
Playing in new SoFi Stadium should spark Chargers, says experienced Linval Joseph
Chargers
Playing in new SoFi Stadium should spark Chargers, says experienced Linval Joseph
The Chargers will experience SoFi Stadium for the first time with a scrimmage Thursday. The Chargers are Linval Joseph’s third team to open a stadium, and he says it’s exhilarating.
California
Son of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar charged with stabbing neighbor
California
Son of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar charged with stabbing neighbor
Adam Abdul-Jabbar, the son of famed Lakers star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, faces criminal charges of repeatedly stabbing his neighbor after getting into an argument over trash cans, prosecutors say.
Sports
Giannis Antetokounmpo chosen NBA defensive player of the year
Sports
Giannis Antetokounmpo chosen NBA defensive player of the year
Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo claimed his first piece of hardware this season, winning the league’s defensive player of the year award.
Dodgers
Dodgers lineup vs. San Francisco Giants: Justin Turner makes his return
Dodgers
Dodgers lineup vs. San Francisco Giants: Justin Turner makes his return
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
Laisser un commentaire