Lionel Messi admits he had a ‘very bad time in the summer’ after failing to push through a free transfer to Man City … but the Barcelona superstar insists he is now ‘excited’ again and ‘feels like a fight’ for the struggling club during a ‘difficult time’
- Lionel Messi has been interviewed about the riot he caused a few months ago
- Barcelona legend tried to leave in the summer but says he is happy again now
- An excerpt of the interview was released by the Spanish television station which is broadcasting it
- Messi said: ‘I feel like fighting badly for everything ahead’
Lionel Messi has quietly climbed the summit on his miserable summer in Barcelona.
The one-hour interview at Argentine club legend will be broadcast in Spain on December 27 but part of it has already been withdrawn.
Messi seems honest about his struggles at Campa Nou over the past few months but the tone changed to one hope as he once again promised everything he can to win at Barcelona this season.
Lionel Messi has been interviewed about his turmoil in Barcelona this summer
The Barcelona talisman opened up over an hour-long interview about his recent struggles
He said: ‘The fact is that I am fine today. It’s true I had a really bad time in the summer.
‘He came before. What happened before the summer, because of how the season came to an end, the burofax and everything … Then I dragged on a bit at the start of the season.
‘But today I’m fine and I feel like fighting badly for everything ahead, excited.
‘And excited. I know the club is going through a difficult time, at both club and team level, and everything around Barcelona is going to be tough but I look forward to it. ‘
Messi is optimistic about the future and says he feels right now about his situation
The situation with Messi pushing to leave the club with which he is associated has become a major issue for them.
The burofax mentioned by the 33-year-old in the interview clip described his transfer requests sent to Barcelona.
Messi and his representatives believed that a clause in his contract would leave him with nothing, with the season extended due to a coronavirus crisis.
Barcelona claimed that clause expired on June 10 and as it was not activated before that date, any club would have to pay the £ 630million release clause to sign it.
Barcelona fans will no doubt be gearing up in droves to listen to what Messi has to say.
Messi and Co have struggled this season and are far from distance in LaLiga
After much encouragement, both publicly and privately, Messi chose not to push the issue further and chose to stay, with his contract still expiring next summer.
His father had a meeting with then-president Josep Bartomeu, which was an important part of the problem for Messi in Barcelona, and the matter was put to bed for now.
The saga had been behind the scenes for some time with Messi unhappy at the hierarchy but ended in a Champions League 8-2 win at Bayern Munich.
Quique Setien was soon sacked and it was clear that Barcelona needed surgery both on and off the pitch.
Ronald Koeman was sacked as manager, Messi refused to turn to preseason and his father wrote to LaLiga, urging his son to leave the club in the transfer window without going against his contract.
Then on September 4, Messi interviewed Amas, saying: ‘I’m going to continue in the club because the president (Josep Maria Bartomeu) told me it was the only way to leave the clause to pay 700million euros, which is impossible, and then the only other way was to go to court. ‘
Messi understands how difficult the club is going through and ‘fights for everything’
Messi soon stopped saying he would sign a new contract at Barcelona before it expires
Manchester City had been a club in pole position to embrace him and could still do so in the summer, although PSG are also an option with Neymar recently taking out his desire to reunite with five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Messi seems to understand that the club are in financial straits along the line that they are ‘going through a difficult time’.
Barcelona is £ 720m in debt and is desperate to cut its huge wage bill with the pandemic further hurting the bank.
They rely heavily on football tourism and gate money from the 99,000-seat Campa Nou and the new president, who will be inaugurated early next year, will face a number of problems.
Messi could be among those, although he got the interview clip, it looks like he will still promise Barcelona again when they are on a deer back.
