Lionel Messi facing fine for Barcelona absences as Man City transfer is backed with father due to hold showdown talks
Lionel Messi is reportedly facing a huge fine for missing Barcelona’s COVID-19 testing and a training session on Monday.
The Argentina superstar informed the Catalan club last week that he wanted to enact a clause in his contract that would allow him to leave on a free transfer.
Messi’s glittering Barcelona career looks to be over
LaLiga sided with Barcelona on this matter and said his £632million release clause remains active.
Messi is likely to challenge this unless Man City, or another club, can reach an agreement with the Catalan club.
Marca report that the 33-year-old is set to incur ‘serious penalties’ as a result of his actions at the start of this week.
He failed to report for coronavirus testing and the club’s training session on Monday as he no longer believes he is a Barcelona employee.
Messi told Barcelona last week that he wants to leave Camp Nou this summer
The report says that, in accordance ‘with the collective agreement of LaLiga and the Association of Spanish Footballers’, he could face financial penalties and also be suspended.
Marca say the document establishes that a ‘serious offence can be judged when a player “abandons work” for two occasions without just cause’.
The report says a third absence can result in 11 days of his salary being withdrawn or a fine that will be 25 per cent of his monthly salary.
It can also lead to a ‘total suspension’.
Pep Guardiola has spoken to Lionel Messi about joining Manchester City, talkSPORT told
Messi earns around £54million a year, so a quarter of his monthly salary is around £1.1million.
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu is said to be unwilling to fine the player so as not to cause a further deterioration in their relationship.
Messi’s father, Jorge, is set to meet Bartomeu on Wednesday in order to reach an agreement over the player’s future.
But Barcelona presidential candidate Tony Freixa believes Messi will end up with Man City and it could even be liberating for the Catalan club.
Messi and Guardiola could be reunited at Man City this summer
“I think a move to Man City is likely,” Freixa told Goal. “With Pep, Messi experienced his most brilliant years in Barcelona. It would only be logical if both of them worked together again. City, like almost all English clubs, also has the financial means to build a team that can win anything.
“In life everything comes to an end at some point, and even if there will no longer be a player like Messi, his departure would be a chance for Barca to develop into a team that is less dependent on a single player.
“Messi’s influence on Barca’s game has been immense in recent years. The style of play was designed to give him the ball and hope that he would do something magical with it. Without him, the collective would be more in demand again. That can also be liberating.”
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