Jorge Messi, the father of Lionel Messi who doubled as his agent is in Spain to discuss the conflict of interest between his son and Barcelona.
Recall that Lionel Messi submitted his transfer request to Barcelona less than three days after Bayern Munich knocked out Barcelona in the quarter-final stage of the 2019-2020 UEFA Champions League campaign after besting them 8-2.
Since then, Lionel Messi and Barcelona have been on a serious face-off. The 6 times Ballon d’Or winner wants to leave the club for free while FC Barcelona are insisting that they can only allow him to go if his suitor pays off his €700 million release clause.
Messi has taken the fight so far that he has considered himself free from his contract with Barcelona which is meant to expire in June 2021. He refused to carry out his PCR test despite being directed by the club to do so. He also failed to show up in pre-season training.
Lionel Messi vs Barcelona: Jorge Messi and his push for a resolution
The latest reports say the 33-year-old Argentine football icon has agreed on personal terms with Premier League club, Manchester City. However, his father, Jorge Messi, who most times acts as his son’s legal representative, told pressmen when he arrived in Spain on Wednesday that he is yet to have any discussion with Manchester City.
He however confirmed that it will be difficult for his son to stay at FC Barcelona in line with the viral speculations concerning his future with the club. “A future in Barcelona? It is difficult. It would be difficult to stay”, Jorge Messi told El Chiringuito after arriving at El Prat Airport in Barcelona on Wednesday morning.
“I haven’t talked with Pep. There is nothing yet with City”, the 62-year-old super-agent added hours ahead of a proposed meeting with the President of Barcelona, Josep Maria Bartomeu. The meeting is said to be ongoing as of the time of publishing this report and might drag until Thursday.
At the end of the meeting, it is expected that both Lionel Messi’s representatives led by Jorge Messi and the representatives of Barcelona led by Josep Maria Bartomeu will reach a compromise on the contract tussle. The compromise could either force Messi to complete the one season left on his contract; force him out of the club for free, or force him out to a club that can pay a world-record transfer fee for his services.
As it stands, the worst-case scenario is that the meeting will produce no mutual understanding which could force the two parties to settle their differences in a Spanish court.
