One more sign. And not the least. For those who still doubted Lionel Messi's willingness to leave FC Barcelona, this Sunday morning confirmed his announcement on Tuesday. La Pulga simply dried up the recovery of Barça which took the form this morning of an appointment to pass tests for the Coronavirus at the training center of the Spanish club.
Watched by a pack of journalists, the Argentinian star has never appeared. Unlike his other (and future alumni?) Teammates and staff members, also summoned. AFP journalists thus claimed to have seen Luis Suarez, Messi's friend with whom he often happens in training but not Leo. "Invisible," they said.
Legal battle
After this Sunday absence, there is little more doubt that Messi wants more than ever to leave the club which saw him grow and which he made grow. Unless he continues his operation "intox" to "recover the keys to the truck" and make the president Josep Maria Bartomeu resign with who is at war. According to the Spanish press, the club boss said he was ready to put his resignation in the balance if Messi publicly committed to stay.
The divorce seems in any case well underway and the standoff is likely to harden even more if the number 10 most famous in the world sulks the resumption of training on Monday. To see him arrive at the training center would now be a big surprise. Coached by the former blaugrana Pep Guardiola, Manchester City have been given favorites for a few days to recover the Argentine genius. Whoever in the evening, the negotiations on the terms of the divorce promise to be tense. And neither the player nor the club have an interest in them dragging on. Under penalty of ending up in an interminable legal battle (notably around the famous departure clause at 700 million).
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