Lionel Messi insists he is in no rush to decide on his future as he approaches the end of his Barcelona contract, but has hinted that he could move to America to play in the MLS.
The 33-year-old, who has scored a remarkable 644 goals in 749 matches for the Catalans, sensationally expressed his desire to leave Camp Nou during the summer.
AFP
Messi was adamant he wanted to go and faxed a transfer request to the club while branding Josep Maria Bartomeu’s presidency a “disaster”.
The board blocked his hopes of a move and he is now entering the final six months of his contract, with speculation again rising over his future.
But in a lengthy interview broadcast by Spanish TV channel La Sexta, Messi now says he is remains committed to Barcelona and no decision will be taken until the end of the season.
“Nothing will be crystal clear before the end of the year. I’ll wait until the season is over,” he said.
“What matters now is thinking about the team, finishing the year well and not being distracted by other things.
“I don’t know what will happen. I’m focused on what we have here and battling for whatever we can.”
Manchester City are considered the favourites to sign the Argentina superstar should he decide to leave Barca on a free, given his close relationship with Pep Guardiola.
However, Messi has given his strongest indication yet that the MLS is where his future lies.
“I would like to play in the United States and experience life and the league there, but ultimately come back to Barcelona in some capacity,” he said.
“I’m not thinking too far ahead in the short term and just want to see how the season finishes.”
Arguably the most successful days of his career came under Guardiola, who managed Barcelona from 2008-2012.
While Messi has remained close to Guardiola, he insists they have never discussed the possibility of reuniting.
Messi added: “I don’t know how long my last chat with Pep Guardiola was, but we do talk.
“We don’t talk about whether we are going to meet again. For me Pep is the best, he has something special.”
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Messi also opened up over his public falling out with Barca chiefs in the interview, insisting he had no regrets.
“It was a manner of making a point and expressing my feelings,” he said.
“It was far from easy for me to say I wanted to leave the club and the city… but I genuinely felt it was time to go.
“I felt I’d completed a cycle and it was time to leave the club that had given me so much.
“I wanted to win titles and battle for the Champions League and felt it was time for change. The president then started to filter this and that to paint a negative picture of me.
“I spent the whole year telling Bartomeu that I wanted to leave Barcelona. But the president always said ‘No’
“The burofax was a way to make it official. I thought I had completed a cycle. I needed a change. I wanted to go, Barca cycle was over.
“Leaving for free last summer? I knew that if we went to court, we would have won. Not just one lawyer told me that, many did. But I didn’t want to leave Barca in that way…”
Messi also admitted he was still stunned that the club had let his close pal Luis Suarez go for free – and to a close rival in Atletico Madrid.
“Luis Suarez’s departure had nothing to do with the decision but I felt it was crazy the way his exit was handled and that Barcelona let him go to a direct rival,” he said.
“What happened with Luis Suarez to Atleti was crazy!
“He left for free, paying the remaining years of his contract and he joined a team that fight for the same objectives as us. Unbelievable.”
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