Lionel Messi sets himself a deadline to decide Barcelona future

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi has his future up in the air, but he must decide soon as things are moving fast and all parties look for clarity.

Since the last few months, every second transfer story has talked about Lionel Messi and his supposed departure from Barcelona in the coming months. In fact, the Argentine wanted to leave the club in the summer itself but a disagreement with Josep Maria Bartomeu over his exit made matters complicated, resulting in Messi staying at the club.

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A few weeks ago, Bartomeu stepped down from his presidential role along with the rest of his board to make way for Carles Tusquets. The interim president has stated that he will not come under pressure to hold the elections due to the ongoing pandemic. However, it now looks like a date has been locked in- January 24.

Reports in Spain claim that Messi will give himself time to decide whether or not to stay once the elections are done and dusted. The 33-year-old’s favourite candidate is Joan Laporta and the former president’s re-election would more or less mean that the Argentinian international stays, but not without assurances.

For Messi, monetary benefits seem secondary at this point in time and he wants to play for a club who has its plans in place. Unfortunately, Barcelona have been anywhere from an ideal place over the last couple of months and their most recent results, both, on and off the pitch are enough justification for the poor running.

Manchester City are relentlessly pursuing a move for the 6-time Ballon d’Or winner and have also contemplated offering him a pre-contract in January. But with the elections scheduled for later that month, Messi may want to talk to the president-elect before making a concrete decision on his future, which may well be at the Camp Nou if all goes well.