COVID-19 created havoc across the globe, and football did not escape its grasp. A lot of leagues were forced to postpone till further notice from mid-March onwards. After the announcement saying Ligue 1 will not continue, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) were awarded champions. Many European leagues continued after June with Liverpool winning their first Premier League title by 18 points and Real Madrid winning La Liga.
UEFA Champions League (UCL) was suspended from mid-March and resumed in August. The remaining knockout stages were played as single leg games and behind closed doors in Lisbon. Manchester City’s 3-1 defeat to Lyon came as a shock to the football fans and many blamed Guardiola’s baffling tactics. Leipzig’s 2-1 win against Atletico Madrid did surprise some football pundits. PSG had the last laugh against Atlanta with a 2-1 win. The outcome of Barcelona vs Bayern sent shockwaves throughout the whole world. Bayern won by 8-2! Utter humiliation!
The semi finals had seen a win for both Bayern Munich and PSG, who qualified for their first Champions League Final. Bayern emerged victorious against PSG by 1-0 winning their sixth UCL and second treble in the century.
After Barcelona’s exit from the Champions League, change was imminent in team management. Quique Setien was sacked shortly after the defeat and within days Ronald Koeman was appointed as manager. Koeman made his aims very clear in the early days of his new job.
However, little did the Barcelona fans know that the upcoming days would be the most dramatic, nail-biting and potentially heartbreaking.
After Barca’s heavy defeat, it was reported that Messi wanted to leave. This news came from Marcelo Bechler, a Brazilian journalist who was the first to break the news of Neymar’s transfer to PSG. While it was not the first time the Argentinian was rumored with a move away from Catalonia, it was understood that tension was very high at the club after their exit from UCL this year.
On 25th August it was confirmed that Messi sent a letter to the club informing that he wanted to leave. The reason behind his desire was undisclosed but given the situation of the club, it was obvious; lack of sporting ambition of the board and club’s reluctance to take or share the blame in the team’s failed campaign. Messi wanted to leave the club for free, pointing to the clause in his contract that allows him to unilaterally leave at the end of each season.
Theoretically, this clause had to be activated before June 10, 20 days before the end of a season, but he hoped that the unusual circumstances of the pandemic-enforced pause in the season would enable him to achieve a rescinding of his contract.
However, Barcelona argued that the unilateral clause completely expired on June 10 and that the player’s contract is fully active until 2021. This started a contractual argument between both sides. The case could potentially be taken to court. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City was in pole position to sign him, as per prominent reporter, Fabrizio Romano.
Fans gathered outside Camp Nou in protest, voicing their displeasure at club president Josep Maria Bartomeu and their support for Messi.
On 30th August, La Liga got involved, stating that Messi’s €700m release clause had to be paid in order to leave.
On 31st August, Messi missed Barcelona’s first training session under new manager Ronald Koeman, leading people to think that Messi’s departure was imminent.
Few days later, Messi’s father and agent, Jorge Messi landed in Barcelona to discuss Messi’s situation with club president Bartomeu and the board. However, when it became increasingly clear any club would have to pay the release clause, Messi decided not to take the matter to court and stay for one more year at the club. With a contract until 2021; with Bartomeu’s strong unwillingness to agree on a fee, Messi is now willing to play out his contract.
Goal.com interviewed Lionel Messi regarding his situation at Barcelona. He said that Bartomeu promised that he would be allowed to leave after the season, but little did Messi know that he was not a man of his word. “Barcelona is the club of my life and I would never take them to court. So, I will stay,” said Messi.
Koeman is reportedly trying to make a move for Dutch forward Memphis Depay from Lyon and Liverpool star Gini Wijnaldum, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The saga ends with relief for the fans knowing that beloved La Pulga will stay for another year. However, heartbreak did not cease to exist. With the termination of Luis Suarez’s contract, who joined Atletico Madrid, MSN completely ended.
Written By: Abraaz Aryan Rahman
Edited By: Raynul Huda