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Lionel Messi To Receive 'Shock Request' From Barcelona President Only Weeks After Denying His Release

Lionel Messi To Receive 'Shock Request' From Barcelona President Only Weeks After Denying His Release

Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi slammed Josep Bartomeu over his refusal to allow the Argentine forward to leave the Camp Nou in the summer.

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz

Lionel Messi will shockingly be asked to accept a wage cut by Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu, according to stunning reports.

The 33-year-old Barcelona captain was heavily linked with Manchester City in the summer after demanding his release from the Spanish club.

But Messi, who is out of contract next summer, made a shock U-turn earlier this month as he refused to take Barcelona to court over the dispute surrounding his £623m release clause.

Spanish TV channel Cuatro now reports that Bartomeu will request the Argentine superstar take a wage cut only weeks after denying his exit from the Camp Nou.

According to reports, Messi earns around £988,000 a week in wages from his current deal with Barcelona.

And those earnings don't count the amount of money that the six-time Ballon d'Or winner brings in through bonuses and image rights.

PA

PA

Cuatro claims that Barcelona want to bring Messi's wages down due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on club finances.

Messi's relationship with Bartomeu has fractured since last season and the Argentina captain even blasted the Barca president for not staying true to his word.

"I thought and was sure that I was free to leave, the president always said that at the end of the season I could decide if I stayed or not," he told Goal earlier this month.

PA

"Now they cling to the fact that I did not say it before June 10, when it turns out that on June 10 we were competing for La Liga in the middle of this awful coronavirus and this disease altered all the season.

"And this is the reason why I am going to continue in the club. Now I am going to continue in the club because the president told me that the only way to leave was to pay the €700 million (£624m/$823m) clause, and that this is impossible."

Messi has since returned to training and featured in his side's 3-1 victory over Spanish club Gimnastic on the weekend.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football News, Football, Barcelona, Lionel Messi, La Liga, Barca