Lionel Messi Gives The Longest And Most Personal Interview Of His Career On TV
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Lionel Messi has given the most personal interview of his career and discussed all aspects of Barcelona, including his long-term future and the club's direction.
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He opted to stay to avoid a legal battle with his employers of two decades. Now, in a tell-all interview with La Sexta, Messi has revealed numerous lawyers informed him he'd have won any form of court case.
Per @barcacentre he said: "Leaving for free last summer? I knew that if we went to court, we would have won. Not just one lawyer told me that, many did. But I didn't want to leave in that way.
"I will not negotiate with other clubs. I will wait for the season to end and in June I will decide."
Among the clubs interested in the Argentine's signature were Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City.
When asked if he would send the burofax again despite the controversy, Messi replied per Fabrizio Romano: "I spent the whole year telling [former president Josep] Bartomeu that I wanted to leave Barcelona.
"But the president always said 'No'. The burofax was a way to make it official. I thought I had completed a cycle. I needed a change. I wanted to go, Barca cycle was over.
"My kids were saying that they didn't want to leave, but I felt it was the best for me. I felt like a cycle was over."
The summer saw Barcelona change managers after an 8-2 drubbing at the hands of Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Ronald Koeman took over from Quique Setien and Barca currently sit fifth in La Liga.
"These days I am feeling well," Messi continued.
Messi: "If Xavi comes, do I stay? I don't know, we'll see what happens in June."
- barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 27, 2020
Messi: "It will be difficult to bring players. There is no money. You have to bring important players. Bringing Neymar would be very expensive. It will be a difficult situation for the new president, he must be intelligent."
- barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 27, 2020
"I had a really bad time last summer with the burofax and all that, and before.
"But now I feel good, excited to fight for everything in front of us. But the club are going through difficult moment, the team too. Everything around Barca is difficult.
"I know that things at Barca are really, really bad. It will be difficult to get back to where we were."
Messi: "Cried lately? I didn't cry because of sports issues, but I did suffer a lot. I did cry because of other issues, but I prefer not to go into details."
- barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 27, 2020
Messi's interview was very refreshing to hear. We've seen a very different Messi today, and heard about things which we never knew about him. The one thing which has caught my eye was the fact that he dreams of playing in the United States.
- Reshad Rahman ✆ (@HagridFCB) December 27, 2020
Among other topics discussed were his reaction to the death of Diego Maradona, his dream of playing in the United States and seeing himself as a sporting director in retirement.
Featured Image Credit: La Sexta
Topics: Football News, Football, Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Champions League, La Liga
