Lionel Messi didn’t attend Barcelona’s first training session

Lionel Messi has already informed the club about his decision to leave this summer. He wants to terminate his contract with Barcelona. This news has shaken the Barcelona fans while others are drooling at the idea of seeing Messi play for their favourite clubs.

Now, the main debate is whether Messi will be allowed to leave for free or will he have to pay his release clause in order to leave the club.

The speculations are going on and Messi hasn’t made any public statement after sending the burofax to Barcelona.

After missing the PCR tests for COVID-19, Lionel Messi has not attended Barcelona’s first training session under Ronald Koeman either.

Confirmed: Lionel Messi has missed the first training session under Ronald Koeman at Barcelona.

[@Benayadachraf]

— Man City Xtra (@City_Xtra) August 31, 2020

Barcelona-based journalist Achraf Ben Ayad has now reported that Messi was not present at the training session on Monday.

No llegó Messi a la Ciudad Deportiva. No hará el entrenamiento previsto para las 17:30, el primero de la temporada.

— Josep Soldado Gómez (@JosepSoldado) August 31, 2020

La Sexta journalist Josep Soldado Gómez has also confirmed that Messi did not arrive at the Ciudad Deportiva training complex ahead of the session, scheduled to begin at 17:30 CET.

This is a serious indication from Messi who has already told the club about his desire to leave this summer. Messi had a clause in his Barcelona contract that allowed him to leave at the end of the season but that expired on June 10, so his ‘free clause’ ends technically. However, like what happened with other transfers, FIFA had to extend due to the anomaly in timings due to the COVID-19, so it may happen that he could be allowed to leave for free.

But Bartomeu and LaLiga declared that Messi is still under contract with Barcelona and he can’t leave for free and it seems Messi is still hell-bent on leaving the Catalan club.

There have been reports that Messi has talked with Guardiola and have already agreed on terms with Premier League club Manchester City.

Whether Barcelona will be able to keep their most prized asset or will Messi once again reunite with Guardiola at Manchester City? This transfer saga is heating up and it remains to be seen how it unfolds in the upcoming days.

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