Lionel Messi decides to STAY at Barcelona to 'avoid a legal dispute'

Lionel Messi has decided to stay at Barcelona for the coming season following a contract dispute with the club.

Messi told Barcelona, via his lawyers, last week that he had activated a clause in his contract that allowed him to leave for free before the 2020-21 season.

The club disputed the claim saying the clause expired on June 10, a position backed by LaLiga, meaning paying his €700million (£632m) release clause is the only way to trigger a transfer.

After a number of meetings between club president Josep Maria Bartomeu and Messi's father, and agent, Jorge, the six-time Ballon d'Or winner says he will stay for another year as he does not want to take the club to court.

“I'll continue at Barcelona and my attitude won't change, no matter how much I have wanted to go," he told Goal.com. “I told the club, the president, that I wanted to go. I've been telling him all year.

"I thought my time in Barcelona was over, sadly - I always wanted to finish my career here. It was a very difficult year, I suffered a lot in training, in games and in the dressing room.

"The president always said that at the end of the season I could decide if I wanted to go or if I wanted to stay and in the end he did not end up keeping his word.

"I wanted a winning project and to win titles with the club to continue expanding the legend of Barcelona. The truth is that there has been no project or anything for a long time, they juggle and cover holes as things go by.

"I feel hurt by things that I heard from people, from journalism, from people questioning my Barcelonismo. It also helped me to see who is who. There are many very false people. It hurt me when my love for this club was questioned. My love for Barca will never change."

More follows…