BARCELONA, Spain — Barcelona captain Lionel Messi has termed off negotiations around renewing his contract with the club and is prepared to depart the Catalans when his existing deal expires in 2021, in accordance to a report by Spanish radio station Cadena Ser on Friday.
The report claimed Messi and his father Jorge had begun speaking about renewing his past deal with the club, which was signed in 2017, but that he no for a longer time needs to stay at the Camp Nou.
The report extra that Messi is angry about leaked media experiences that appeared to make him look responsible for occasions at the club, this sort of as the January sacking of coach Ernesto Valverde, and that he is annoyed about the squad’s lack of top quality.
The Argentine’s associates and Barcelona did not straight away reply to requests for remark.
Messi, who turned 33 very last thirty day period, scored his 700th profession intention on Tuesday in opposition to Atletico Madrid, but the milestone strike ended in disappointment as Barca drew the video game 2-2 in the hottest blow to their bid to retain the Spanish title.
Barca path Genuine Madrid by 4 factors in the title race with five video games remaining soon after Authentic beat Getafe 1- on Thursday.
Formerly known for his shy temperament off the pitch, Messi has turn out to be much more vocal in his criticism of the club in the previous yr.
In January he strike out at sporting director Eric Abidal, who he explained had implied gamers experienced led to Valverde getting sacked.
In a February interview with newspaper Mundo Deportivo, he declared the group was not fantastic plenty of to acquire this season’s Champions League.
Then in April, he criticized the board for implying gamers had been not willing to accept a fork out-slash to assist the team’s fiscal problems during the coronavirus pandemic.
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