Lionel Messi’s father and agent Jorge has revealed that the purported €700m release clause in his Barcelona contract is not valid.
Messi came to a disagreement with the Nou Camp outfit about the presence of an exit clause in his Barca contract.
He thought he could leave for free and choose his next club, but La Liga confirmed that if anyone was to sign him, they must pay the Catalonia club.
In a letter to LaLiga, Messi Snr claims the release clause expired at the end of last season and therefore no longer applies.
The six-time Ballon D’Or winner sparked one of the biggest transfer stories in football when he told Barcelona he wanted to leave recently.
Messi has spent his whole professional career at Nou Camp but grew unsettled after their 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Rumours soon emerged that the Argentine could reunite with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
In fact, some even went as far as to say he had agreed personal terms.
Paris Saint-Germain were also showing an interest in Messi, whom few clubs in the world could afford.
However, the statement does go against reports from Friday morning that the 33-year-old could now, in fact, stay at Barcelona.
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Club president Josep Maria Bartomeu and Messi Snr met to discuss the player’s future on Wednesday with Marca reporting Messi could, in fact, have a rethink and stay in Catalonia.
This article was most recently revised and updated 11 months ago
