It’s Not Impossible For Messi To Quit Barcelona – Agusti Benedito

Pep Guardiola has said a club could activate Barcelona star Lionel Messi’s €300 million buyout clause — but sources have also said that club will not be Manchester City.

Barcelona announced last month that an agreement was ready for Messi to sign a new four-year deal, but he has still not put pen to paper, and former Blaugrana presidential candidate Agusti Benedito said he would be shocked if he did so anytime soon.

However, Barca remain confident that Messi will sign the extension despite the doubts expressed by ex-club president Joan Laporta and now Benedito, but Neymar’s world-record €222m transfer to Paris Saint-Germain has made the possibility of a club paying his buyout clause appear more likely to happen.

Asked about whether a club can trigger the clause after Monday night’s 1-1 draw with Everton, City boss Guardiola told a news conference: “I don’t know — someone might if they have the money and want to spend it.
“It might happen, who knows?”

“It’s not impossible [that Messi leaves],” Benedito said. “It might be impossible for him to go for €300m next week, though, because from January he’s free [to then move in the summer].

“I am almost convinced that Messi, like all the players at Barca, is seeing the severity of the institutional situation at the club. I think Leo’s waiting to see what happens with the vote of no confidence, the signings that are made, how things are going in October, November… He’s going to wait and wait.

“And with the way Bartomeu is going, with the team he’s building, I think it’s really clear that Leo, free, without a clause … it could be worse than the Neymar case. It would surprise me a lot if Messi signed his deal before the end of September, October…

“Bartomeu said in July that Messi had signed — but he’s still not signed. He is playing with fire. He said it to distract [from other problems], to change public opinion…

“But he’s still not been able to get Messi to sign. And if he’s still not signed, it’s because he’s not certain. I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong, but I think it’s possible that Messi doesn’t sign [the renewal]. It’s worrying.”