La Liga

LIONEL MESSI’S father Jorge insists that his son CAN leave Barcelona for free this summer.
The Argentine’s representatives believe that a clause in his contract allows him to walk out on the LaLiga club immediately.

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Lionel Messi and father Jorge are deliberating the former’s futureCredit: EPA
LaLiga have since denied their interpretation of the clause – but in a fresh twist Jorge Messi has hit back with a letter to LaLiga.
Speaking about the letter, Spanish football expert Guillem Balague explained that it “denies LaLiga interpretation that the €700m buyout clause is still applicable.
“Jorge insists it is not applicable from the end of last season if the player decides unilaterally to leave FCB.”

He then revealed that LaLiga have hit back with a letter of their own.

On the response, Balague wrote: “LaLiga responds to Jorge Messi’s letter.
“They insist on their initial take as they reckon Messi is analysing the contract out of context and away from its literal meaning.”
The initial clause in Messi’s contract dictated that he could leave the club for free should he notify them of his intention to do so before June 10.
But because the season was extended by the coronavirus pandemic, Messi’s legal representatives have argued that so should be the clause.

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The uncertainty surrounding his future has seen Manchester City reportedly put together a £623million package to sign for them.
But this morning it was reported that he could stay at Camp Nou for one more year.
Messi’s father, who is also his agent, jetted to Spain this week for face-to-face talks with the club bosses.
And Jorge confirmed for the first time on Thursday that the 33-year-old was considering staying.
When asked whether Messi not leaving was a possibility, he said: “Yes.”
Barcelona claim that their No10 is currently on strike, having not turned up to Covid testing or Monday’s first training session under new boss Ronald Koeman.

The 33-year-old could yet see out the remaining year of his contract, however.
And team-mate Antoine Griezmann is hoping for that to be the case.
According to Mundo Deportivo, he said: “We try to have news, but what happens is between the club and him.
“We just hope he stays. We listen to a bit of everything but we don’t know more on our part.”

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Messi was furious after his side’s 8-2 defeat to Bayern MunichCredit: Getty Images – Getty More

LIONEL MESSI’S dad has hit the headlines over the last week as he tries to resolve his son’s future.
But this is not just the great man suddenly calling in his family to help out – Jorge Messi is a “cold-blooded analyst” ready to go head to head with one of the biggest clubs in the world to negotiate. Again.

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Jorge Messi is the only man his son Lionel trusts to sort out his off-field matters, from contracts to sponsors to charity workCredit: EPA
With Messi, 33, desperate to leave Barcelona after falling out with the club’s board and a series of on-field failures, he is now relying on his father to make it happen.
The hero’s dad flew into Barcelona from Argentina for sit-down showdown talks with club president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Initial discussions ended in a stalemate but despite telling the Nou Camp chief his son is leaving, it is thought Messi may be resigned to the idea of staying and seeing out the last year of his current contract.
Former steel worker Jorge coached his son at Grandoli in Rosario – Lionel’s first club – but since then has always been in control of Messi’s off-field matters, right from when he first moved to Barcelona.

It was Messi Sr that arranged the trial, secretly flew with his son to Catalonia for a trial at Barca then played hard ball to ensure his 13-year-old son was paid around £106,000 per year, even offering him to Real Madrid at one point.
Three years after making his Barcelona debut, his child replaced Ronaldinho as the best-paid player at the Nou Camp.
He is described by Marca as “thoughtful and calm” but has earned a reputation for being notoriously difficult at the negotiating table.
One source told The Athletic he lacked humility, saying: “He can come across as self-important, as you would expect as the dad of the best player in the world.

“Most dads of footballers are, but the way it was described to me, how he acts in meetings with the club over the years has been classless.

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Messi Jr is ready to wave goodbye to the Nou Camp after nearly 20 years at the clubCredit: Getty Images – Getty

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Jorge travelled to Catalonia for showdown talks with Barcelona president Josep Maria BartomeuCredit: Reuters

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The pair have been inseparable throughout the Argentine’s career and have a close, trustworthy bondCredit: EPA

“Everyone knows who your son is, you don’t need to act like that.”
And it was Messi Sr who would do everything with his wonderkid son when the pair lived together alone in Barcelona as the rest of the family moved back to Argentina.
It helps explain why the pair are inseparable when many advisors have been and gone over the years.
Even through their share of tough spells, none more so than the tax evasion court case and guilty verdicts, they trust one another wholeheartedly.
And that explains why Messi Sr is the one negotiating with Josep Maria Bartomeu to decide what happens next in the club captain’s career.
Some see this as a positive, keeping everything within the family, while others are less supportive, especially with Jorge’s lack of business experience.
Another source told The Athletic: “He tries to do everything for his son. He has not learned how to step back and move aside and let other people work in a more professional way.
“They are a good family, they love each other, but they do not seem to be particularly good at building relationships with people who can help them.”

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Since they moved to Barcelona nearly 20 years ago, the former supervisor at a metal factory in Rosario has handled all of Messi’s dealings – from new contract after new contract to commercial sponsorships to being chief executive of his business and running the charitable foundation.
All in all, it is estimated Messi is worth around £309m.
Lionel Messi Limited rakes in around £134million each year and takes into consideration his £100m wages, £30m from sponsors such as Adidas, Gatorade, Pepsi, Huawei and MasterCard.
The rest is supplemented by the Messis’ property investments and other business interests, such as his hotels.
Their company offices are relatively modest and small in Barcelona with a limited number on the pay roll – because it is Messi and his dad, with the support of brother Rodrigo, who make the key decisions.

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Messi’s foundation, meanwhile, has been praised for the amount of good causes it has supported since he established it following an emotional hospital trip in Boston to see terminally-ill children in 2007.
Inspired to put his mammoth wages towards helping others, the charity has proved a huge support for many children across the world.
Messi put £30m of his wealth to pay for the SJD Pediatric Center de Barcelona, the biggest children’s cancer centre in Europe.
It also emerged in August that the Argentine covered the cost of 50 respirators for hospitals in his hometown Rosario.
But now the six-time Ballon d’Or winner is relying on his dad to do what he has always done – one way or another – and take care of his footballing future.
That way Messi can concentrate on pursuing yet more medals and goals, whether that be in the red and blue of the Blaugrana, the sky blue at the Etihad or elsewhere.

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LIONEL MESSI has reportedly recorded a statement confirming he will stay at Barcelona for one more season.
The 33-year-old has been offered a £623million contract to join Manchester City after handing in his transfer request.

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Lionel Messi looks set to see out his contract at the Nou CampCredit: Getty Images – Getty
But Sphera Sports claim the Argentine has decided to see out his contract at the Nou Camp.
Messi’s father, who is also his agent, jetted to Spain this week for face-to-face talks with the club bosses.
Jorge confirmed the first time on Thursday that the 33-year-old was considering staying.
When asked whether Messi not leaving was a possibility, he said: “Yes.”

Barcelona claim the forward has been on strike after he failed to report for a Covid test and pre-season training.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner demanded to leave the club for free after he handed in his transfer request.
But the club were certain that the clause in his contract allowing him to leave for nothing has expired.
As a result, City lined up an incredible £623m offer to lure the superstar to England.

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Pep Guardiola appears to have missed out on the signing of Lionel MessiCredit: Getty Images – Getty

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The incredible offer would have seen Messi earn £14,2000 an hour, £341,000 per day and £2.4m per week.
Spanish press report Messi will spend another year at Barcelona – where he has scored 634 goals in 731 games.
He will then join Pep Guardiola’s City side next summer when his deal in Spain has expired.

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Barcelona will have Lionel Messi for the 2020/21 campaignCredit: AFP or licensors
Barcelona star Antoine Griezmann has expressed his desire for his team-mate to stay.
According to Mundo Deportivo, he said: “We try to have news, but what happens is between the club and him.
“We just hope he stays. We listen to a bit of everything but we don’t know more on our part.”

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LIONEL MESSI, now bearded and always seen with a captain’s armband strapped around his bicep, is possibly the most familiar sight in football.
But if we cast our minds all the way back to November 2003, that was far from being the case.

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Fresh-faced Messi was just 16 when he was first given an opportunity to shine at Barcelona
A fresh-faced 16-year-old, Messi was playing for Barca’s C team and a lifetime away from the enormous transfer saga which has erupted this summer.
But when the Spanish giants sent a squad to Portugal to face Porto in a mid-season friendly to open the brand new Estadio Dragao – built for Euro 2004 – Messi was handed a fleeting opportunity to shine.
Frank Rijkaard’s line-up, as remembered by Planet Football, was experimental to say the least, and ended up falling 2-0 to Jose Mourinho’s team – who went on to win the Champions League that season.
Messi was given 15 minutes at the end, and the diminutive 5ft 7in attacker managed to create two chances.

He went on to break into the Barcelona B side that season, before making nine first-team appearances the following year.
His prominence grew and he transformed into the six-time Ballon d’Or winning superstar we know today.
But what happened to the other players that were thrown together to play for Barca in that fairly innocuous friendly?
Here SunSport akes a look.

Albert Jorquera
Perennial understudy to Victor Valdes, Jorguera made 24 appearances across over a decade at the Nou Camp.
He left in 2009 after being further marginalised by the 2008 arrival of Jose Pinto – enjoying a year in the second tier with nearby Girona before hanging up his boots aged just 31 in 2010.
Jorquera went on to work in his family’s jewellery business – having studied for a gemology degree while playing understudy to Valdes.
Oscar Lopez
Another academy graduate, the right-back had made two appearances at the back end of the previous campaign.
More first-team matches were hard to come by, however, and he finished his Barcelona career having featured only 13 times.
Injury-hit spells at Lazio, Real Betis, Numancia and Gimnastic failed to ignite things – and he ended up finishing his career in Holland with Go Ahead Eagles in 2012 at just 32.

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Oscar Lopez made fleeting appearances for BarcelonaCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Oleguer
Oleguer is another La Masia graduate that retired in his early thirties – but he made far more of an impact on and off the pitch.
Making 175 appearances for Barca’s first-team between 2002 and 2008 – he even started the 2006 Champions League final against Arsenal.
More politically engaged than the average footballer, he has become known for his pro-independence Catalonian beliefs – and has written a number of articles to that end.

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Oleguer started Barca’s 2006 Champions League final triumph over ArsenalCredit: AP:Associated Press
Rafael Marquez
Mexican Rafa Marquez must have felt out of place in this XI as he was actually a first-team regular that season.
The commanding defender made 242 appearances for Barcelona as well as earning 147 caps for his country across a long, distinguished career in football.
He left Barca in 2010 but that didn’t mean that his time in the spotlight was over.
Marquez appeared in the music video for former team-mate Gerard Pique’s future wife Shakira’s hit song Waka Waka that summer ahead of the World Cup in South Africa.
But that wasn’t to be his last World Cup, as he was still playing for Mexico at the 2018 edition in Russia aged 39 despite having been blacklisted by the US for allegedly providing a front for a drugs cartel.

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Rafa Marquez was a regular in the Barca backlineCredit: Times Newspapers Ltd
Fernando Navarro
Left-back Navarro was a regular for Barcelona’s B squad at this point – but he managed to carve out a very respectable career for himself.
He went on to manage 35 appearances for the first-team while competing with the likes of Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Sylvinho.
Navarro eventually left Barca for Mallorca, before becoming a regular at Sevilla in a seven-year spell.
His form even earned him a place in Spain’s victorious Euro 2008 squad – appearing in their group stage triumph over Greece.
He retired in 2018 after an unsuccessful stint at Deportivo La Coruna.

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Fernando Navarro went on to finish his career with Deportivo La Coruna in 2018Credit: Reuters
Ramon Ros
Possibly the most obscure name on this retro teamsheet, Ramon Ros, like Messi, was a regular in Barca’s C team that season.
The defensive midfielder did manage to break through two years later, making a cameo appearance against Sevilla in which he replaced Oscar Lopez.
But that was to be his only Barcelona appearance and after a loan spell at Numancia – he moved down a division to Lleida in the second tier.
Sadly he had to retire aged just 26 two years later after succumbing to a number of injuries.

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Ramon Ros tussled with Michael Owen in LaLiga for Numancia before having to retire aged 26Credit: AP:Associated Press
Xavi
Now it’s fair to say that this guy was quite successful, too.
The midfield metronome won 32 trophies for club and country throughout a distinguished career in which he became widely heralded as one of the greatest players of all time.
He left Barca in 2015 to play for Qatari side Al-Sadd, who he now manages – although he recently talked up a return to the Nou Camp as manager.

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Xavi had already been in the Barcelona first-team for a number of years before Messi came alongCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Sergio Santamaria
Now this list comes crashing back down to Earth with the entry of attacking midfielder, Sergio Santamaria.
While the Malaga native did at least get to enjoy the privilege of fleeting appearances in Barcelona’s first-team – he failed to live up to the promise that saw him scoop the prestigious Golden Ball award at the 1997 Under-17 World Cup.
He went on to play for Albacete, Saint Andreu and Logrones, among others, and retired aged just 31 after seeing injuries blight his senior career.
Gabri
A Catalan born and bred, Gabri was a useful figure at Barcelona in the early 2000s, acting as a handy utility man between 1999 and 2006.
Predominantly a midfielder, he also did a job on the flanks on numerous occasions – as well as filling in at full-back.
His efforts earned him three Spain caps and a place in their Euro 2004 squad.
Since retiring in 2014, Gabri has become a coach, working at La Masia with the Barcelona academy for three years.
He has since become a manager in his own right, leading Swiss side Sion – and most recently FC Andorra.

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Gabri was a useful utility man for BarcelonaCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Luis Enrique
Enrique must have felt like a man among boys in this side. At 33 he was in the final year of his celebrated career when he took to the field in Oporto.
The 62-cap Spain international, who has since gone on to manage his country, played upfront, on the wings, in midfield and even once at centre-back against FC Puchov in the Uefa Cup that year.
Enrique waved goodbye to the Nou Camp at the end of that season after 301 appearances, but was to return a decade later to manage the club with distinction – winning the Champions League with a Messi-inspired team in 2015.
He is now manager of the Spanish national team once again.

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Luis Enrique went on to win the Champions League for Barcelona as a coach in 2015Credit: Getty Images – Getty
Luis Garcia
More well-known in England for his popular spell at Liverpool, Garcia actually struggled to make an impact while at boyhood club Barca.

Garcia had just returned to the Nou Camp a few months before this match having initially been sold to Atletico Madrid in 2002.
And while he managed seven goals and nine assists in his sole season in the Barca first-team – he could never achieve the popularity he was to gain at Anfield.
He joined Liverpool for £6million the following summer, becoming a hero in the Reds’ subsequent run to their fifth European Cup in his first season.

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Luis Garcia felt much more love from the Kop than BarcelonaCredit: PA:Press Association

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LUKA MODRIC has spoken of Eden Hazard’s determination to impress at Real Madrid – even if it risked his long-term fitness.
The Belgian struggled with injuries and a lack of form throughout his first year in the Spanish capital.

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Luka Modric had to put an arm round Eden Hazard’s shoulder
With the player himself describing the season as his worst on an individual level, Modric opened up on having to tell Hazard to take it easier.
Speaking to AFP, the Croat said: “Eden is a great guy and a special player, but he was playing with pain and when you’re on the pitch, people always expect the best.
“They don’t care if you have little problems.

“I spoke to him and said, ‘Eden maybe you need not to play now and recover because next season we need you at your best. This is a season where you’re getting to know everything but next season you need to be 100 per cent because if not, it’s going to be difficult’.

“Hopefully he comes back without any problems and then I’m sure he’ll show his potential and why the club bought him, because we will need him a lot.”
Hazard scored just once in 22 outings for Real with hamstring, foot and ankle injuries a constant problem.
Real boss Zinedine Zidane nonetheless trusted him with a starting spot in the club’s season-ending Champions League defeat to Manchester City.
It ended an otherwise successful campaign for Los Blancos, who reclaimed the LaLiga title from Barcelona, but for Hazard it was rather more miserable.

The ex-Chelsea ace stated in July: “There have been injuries, but I hope this is behind and that next year will be better.
“In reality it has not been such a terrible year because I have been able to come to this club and we have won the league in my first year.
“I can’t ask for more. [But] on an individual level it has been the worst year of my career.
“It has been a little strange season with everything that has happened.”

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