Is Lionel Messi Likely To Join PSG Or City? Here’s Latest Update On Barca Skipper’s Future

Lionel Messi, whose current deal with FC Barcelona is set to expire at the end of the 2020-21 season, reportedly has not been in touch with either Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) or Manchester City. These two clubs have been heavily linked with the Barcelona skipper over the last few months.

Messi is waiting until the end of the ongoing campaign to decide if he would remain at Barcelona or depart, unnamed sources have told Goal. However, International Business Times could not verify it independently.

The 32-year-old is tired of the media's speculations regarding his future at Barcelona, the soccer website caughtoffside.com reported. It added that he intends to announce his final decision himself at the end of the season of where he will be playing in the 2021-22 campaign.

Players, who are out of contract at the end of the season, were allowed to speak to foreign teams from Jan. 1 onwards. With Messi’s contract due to expire in the summer of 2021, he is free to speak to non-Spanish teams. However, Messi, an Argentinian, has decided not to do so.

Last summer, the Barca skipper once again became the center of attraction when he put in a transfer request at Barcelona, a club he has been associated with since 2001. He wanted to activate a clause in his contract that would let him leave as a free agent. However, the Catalan club remained firm about any interested club would have to meet the player’s hefty release clause.

To avoid any legal implications, Messi chose not to activate the clause and remained at Barcelona to see his deal through 2020-21. Moreover, there is further uncertainty about their captain’s future with no president in place in Barcelona. Goal has also reported that Messi has not been in touch with either of the three presidential candidates Joan Laporta, Toni Freixa, and Victor Font, showing the election will have no impact on his final decision.

It was recently revealed that Messi, who has helped Barcelona win over 30 titles, had signed a contract worth up to $674 million in 2017, and the player has earned most of it by now. As a result, the club has decided to take legal action against the Spanish publication that unfolded such confidential details.