Messi absent needlessly to say
Lionel Messi boycotted Barcelona's first pre-season work out on Monday, club sources have confirmed to AFP, as the striker upped the stakes in his battle to leave this summer.
After skipping coronavirus tests on Sunday, Messi was absent again from the club's Ciutat Esportiva training ground, where Ronald Koeman held a session at 5:30pm, his first since being appointed Barca coach.
It appears increasingly likely Messi will attempt to force a transfer by refusing to play in La Liga next season, which commences on September 12.
The 33-year-old and his legal representatives believe that participating in Barcelona's pre-season programme would contradict their argument that Messi no more belongs to the club.
They insist a clause in his contract which allows Messi to depart for free come early july was activated last Tuesday, when the burofax stating his intention to leave attained the Camp Nou.
But Barcelona maintain that clause needed to be activated by June 10 and the deadline has not been extended, regardless of the season being prolonged because of the pandemic, with the men's Champions League final played on August 23.
La Liga supported Barca's position on Sunday by announcing that the release clause in Messi's contract, set at 700 million euros ($833 million), still applies.
The club's captain and greatest ever player, who has scored 634 goals for them and won 34 titles, now risks being punished either by an excellent or, if his absence continues, a decrease in salary.
Manchester City remain favourites to sign Messi, whose basic wage alone amounts to around 60 million euros.
The Argentinian has reportedly spoken to City coach Pep Guardiola but other clubs stay in the running, including Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan and Juventus.
