Lionel Messi has said that in 2013 he wanted to leave Barcelona but now plans to end his career at the Nou Camp.<\/p>\n
The 32-year-old forward told Barcelona-based radio station RAC1 he felt “very badly treated” by Spain at that time as he and his father were investigated for filing fraudulent tax returns.<\/p>\n
“Sincerely, at that time, I thought about leaving,” he said.<\/p>\n
“Not because of Barcelona but because I wanted to leave Spain, I didn’t want to stay here any longer.”<\/p>\n
He added: “I had my doors open to many clubs but I never got an official offer because everyone knew I really wanted to stay. This situation went way beyond my feelings for Barca.”<\/p>\n
Messi enrolled in Barcelona’s La Masia academy at 13 and made his first team debut at 16.<\/p>\n
He’s gone on to become the club’s record goalscorer with 604 goals and is second on their all-time appearance list behind former team-mate Xavi.<\/p>\n
While the Argentina striker admits there isn’t “anything new” to add about a contract extension, his current deal ends in 2021, he sees his future at the Spanish champions.<\/p>\n
“My idea is to stay for many years. I’ve always thought this way and nothing has changed. It’s clear that my idea is to finish my career at Barca.<\/p>\n
“Especially because of what I feel for the club and for my family. We are very happy in Barcelona,” Messi said.<\/p>\n
In a wide-ranging interview the club’s all-time record goalscorer also denied stories that he plays a significant role in the club’s transfer deals.<\/p>\n
Throughout the summer there were rumours that Messi was encouraging the Barcelona board to re-sign Neymar from PSG, with Messi saying he’d have “loved” to see the Brazilian return.<\/p>\n
He said: “The last time I talked to Bartomeu [Barcelona’s president] was in Liverpool, but we’ve not met since. I have no problem with him.<\/p>\n
“Sometimes, he asks for feedback from the dressing room on the subject of signings, like with Neymar or Griezmann. But it isn’t true that I decide who we are to sign or which coach is here.<\/p>\n
“I think that Neymar regretted leaving FC Barcelona from the first day. He realised that he was wrong.<\/p>\n
“I didn’t criticise the board for not signing Neymar. I was not part of the negotiations.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lionel Messi has said that in 2013 he wanted to leave Barcelona but now plans to end his career at the Nou Camp. The 32-year-old forward told Barcelona-based radio station RAC1 he felt “very badly treated” by Spain at that time as he and his father were investigated for filing fraudulent tax returns. “Sincerely, at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":56651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[110,2,5],"tags":[420,626],"yoast_head":"\n