Lionel Messi’s Barcelona Exit Clause ‘Expires’, Next Line Of Action Unfolds
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner last signed a contract with the club in 2017 – agreeing deal that runs until the end of the 2020-21 campaign.
However, a clause in the contract means the Barcelona superstar could decide to leave for nothing in the summer of 2020 as long as he communicated his decision to the Catalan club before June.
According to ESPN, the actual deadline was May 30 so that has now passed and Messi will continue at the Nou Camp next season.
Barca chiefs are now hoping to tie the Argentine down to one more long-term deal to ensure he sees out his playing days with them.
Messi has previously suggested he would like to end his career with Barca but could also be tempted by a switch to his boyhood team Newell’s Old Boys in his native Rosario.
“I love Barcelona, but I really do miss Rosario,” he said in February.