Messi: Silence from Barcelona squad

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The saga regarding Lionel Messi rumbles on. The Argentine superstar has refused to take part in any of the team’s activities and the club now regard him to be on strike. They’ve even fined him for it. On his part, Messi reportedly no longer considers himself a Barcelona player.

The 33-year-old still believes that the €700 million release clause is no longer valid as per the terms of his Barcelona contract and that he is now free to leave, while the Catalan club maintains the stance that the clause is still pretty much valid and that no club can acquire his services until it is triggered and paid in full. La Liga have waded in on the conflict and declared that the view of the club is the right one, which would mean Messi still belongs to Barcelona.

As reported by Sky Sports, the rest of the Blaugrana squad have remained silent on the matter, with the exception of striker Luis Suarez, whose future is yet to be decided too, as well as midfielder Arturo Vidal whose predicament is similar to that of Messi.

A meeting between Messi’s father and representative Jorge and the Barcelona hierarchy, including president Josep Maria Bartomeu, is expected to take place on Thursday as all parties want the issue resolved as soon as possible.

Messi has mostly been linked with Manchester City, where he would once again be playing under Pep Guardiola, though it is believed that both Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan are preparing bids of their own.