Lionel Messi will end his 20-year career with Barcelona after the Argentine superstar failed to reach agreement on a new deal with the club, the Spanish giants announced on Thursday.
Thursday’s stunning announcement marked a new turnaround in a long-running saga where Barcelona had appeared certain to keep Messi, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.
He had tried to leave last August as a free agent but the expectation was that he would remain with the Spanish giants for another five years, until 2026 when he would be 39.
The 34-year-old signed his first contract with Barcelona in 2000 on a napkin when he was just 13.
However, he had been a free agent since June 30 when his old agreement expired.
Here’s FC Barcelona’s full statement:
Despite FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi having reached an agreement and the clear intention of both parties to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of financial and structural obstacles (Spanish Liga…
