Messi has option to leave Barca next summer

Posted September 07, 2019 7:00 am

The Associated Press

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Barcelona's club president has confirmed that Lionel Messi would have the right to leave the club at the end of this season, as stipulated in his contract.

Spanish newspaper El PaÃƒs reported Thursday that Messi's current contract with Barcelona includes the option for the soccer great to unilaterally end his stay in the summer of 2020.

Club president Josep Bartomeu said late Friday that "Leo Messi has a contract through 2020-21, but before that last season the player could leave Barca."

Bartomeu, however, said he was confident that the club's all-time leading scorer would stay with the team "until 2021 and beyond."

Messi, 32, has scored 603 goals in 687 matches for Barcelona since his debut in 2004. He has helped it win 34 titles, including four Champions League trophies and 10 Spanish leagues.

The Argentine has repeatedly said he is happy to play for the Spanish champions.

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FILE - In this June 21, 2018 file photo Argentina's Lionel Messi reaches for the ball during the group D match between Argentina and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in Nizhny Novgorod Stadium in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Five-time winner Lionel Messi along with Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk are the three finalists for the FIFA best player award. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan) The Associated Press

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