Barcelona is not letting Lionel Messi go without a fight.
It's to be expected that the club wouldn't simply let the 33-year-old talisman walk away, but on Monday the ongoing saga between the Catalan outfit and its best-ever player took another twist as news broke that Barca could be preparing for a months-long standoff with Messi.
According to ESPN, Barcelona is confident that its interpretation of Messi's now famous termination clause means the Argentine superstar can only leave for free by sitting out the entire 2020-21 season. Messi is under contract with Barca through the end of the upcoming La Liga season — which begins Sept. 12 — but he skipped his presesason medical and the team's first training session this week, presumably in an attempt to force the club to the bargaining table.
Messi believes his termination clause alows him to join another team without a transfer fee, while Barca maintains that the player's option expired in June and he's thus bound to a €700 million release clause. La Liga backed the club in its interpretation of the contract, leading to this week's standoff.
Adding to the peculiarity of this saga is the news that Barca is actually eager to extend Messi's current deal, which sees him haul in an estimated €78 million per year.
"The club is not willing to enter into any negotiation for the player's departure," a Barcelona source told CNN. "The position of the club is that Messi has a valid contract until 30 June 2021 which the club would like to extend."
Regardless of which side ultimately comes out on top, it's become clear that Messi is willing to stay on the sidelines for the time being. Whether he'll need to take the entire season off — or if Barca would even let it get that far — remains to be seen, but the sooner the two sides begin actually negotiating, the better for everyone involved.