Lionel Messi, after falling out with the current Barcelona board, officially asked the Catalan club to release him from his duties in the summer transfer window of 2020. After weeks of drama, Messi took a dramatic u-turn and continued his stay in the Nou Camp.

However, things haven’t fallen into place for the Argentine maestro with Barcelona this season when it comes to individual and team form. Now, Messi is set to commence formal talks over a transfer with Manchester City in January.

Messi’s current contract runs till the summer of 2021 and the Barcelona wizard can hold talks with other clubs over his transfer from January 2021. With Pep Guardiola signing a contract extension and Aguero ready to put pen on paper to extend his stay with Manchester City, everything is signalling that Messi may soon head over to the Etihad Stadium.

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According to a report in the Mirror, Man City have already chalked out plans over their transfer of Messi. Whether Messi will sign on a free transfer or will Man City pay a nominal fee to Barcelona over his transfer is yet to be cleared.&nbsp;

Moreover, the City Football Group wants to sign Messi for around a decade to maximize their market reach worldwide.&nbsp;

Man City are also keen to extend the contracts of Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling to secure their prime-years with the club.&nbsp;

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Meanwhile, Barcelona sit at a disappointing 13th position in the La Liga standings with just three wins in eight matches.

However, with a new board expected to come in place for Barcelona soon, it would be interesting to see whether new bosses could manage to lure Messi into another contract extension.&nbsp;

Lionel Messi, after falling out with the current Barcelona board, officially asked the Catalan club to release him from his duties in the summer transfer window of 2020.

Lionel Messi, after falling out with the current Barcelona board, officially asked the Catalan club to release him from his duties in the summer transfer window of 2020. After weeks of drama, Messi took a dramatic u-turn and continued his stay in the Nou Camp. However, things haven’t fallen into place for the Argentine maestro with Barcelona this season when it comes to individual and team form. Now, Messi is set to commence formal talks over a transfer with Manchester City in January. Messi’s current contract runs till the summer of 2021 and the Barcelona wizard can hold talks with other clubs over his transfer from January 2021. With Pep Guardiola signing a contract extension and Aguero ready to put pen on paper to extend his stay with Manchester City, everything is signalling that Messi may soon head over to the Etihad Stadium. Trending: Tottenham Hotspur's Dele Alli flaunts jaw-dropping cricket skills - Watch According to a report in the Mirror, Man City have already chalked out plans over their transfer of Messi. Whether Messi will sign on a free transfer or will Man City pay a nominal fee to Barcelona over his transfer is yet to be cleared. Moreover, the City Football Group wants to sign Messi for around a decade to maximize their market reach worldwide. Man City are also keen to extend the contracts of Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling to secure their prime-years with the club. ALSO READ: England to allow 4,000 fans at elite events in lowest-risk areas Meanwhile, Barcelona sit at a disappointing 13th position in the La Liga standings with just three wins in eight matches. However, with a new board expected to come in place for Barcelona soon, it would be interesting to see whether new bosses could manage to lure Messi into another contract extension.

Lionel Messi to begin 'formal' talks with Man City in January: Report

A lot has been said and written about since Lionel Messi officially sent a fax to Barcelona asking the club to allow him to leave for free. While Barcelona and La Liga have maintained that a full release clause of EUR 700 million needs to be paid by a club to have Messi’s services, many reports have stated that the release clause expired after the completion of 2019-20 season, triggering another clause which allows the Argentine to leave for free.&nbsp;

While Messi hasn’t come out in public about this, as a mark of respect for his life-long club, Barcelona aren’t treating the six-time Ballon d’Or that well. Messi didn’t show up for the PCR test and training as Barca started their pre-season training with the left-footed megastar.&nbsp;

As per latest reports, Messi’s father Jorge is set to arrive in Barcelona to start talks with club president Josep Bartomeu on Thursday. While Bartomeu doesn’t want to listen to anything which relates to Messi leaving the club, Jorge is set to ask the Barca boss to allow his son to leave the club.&nbsp;

IN PICS |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/lionel-messis-next-team-clubs-who-can-really-afford-to-sign-the-argentine-323423" hreflang="en">Lionel Messi's next team: Clubs who can really afford to sign the Argentine</a>

Apparently, Messi hasn’t received Bartomeu’s call while ignoring his messages on WhatsApp with the Barca president trying to convince the Argentine that the club can get back their glory days.&nbsp;

Interestingly, officials from Manchester City, especially Ferran Soriano is in Spain, and reportedly, is set to meet Messi’s father later in this week. Senior officials in Barcelona have started to think that time is up for Messi and that the 33-year-old has made up his mind about leaving the club.&nbsp;

IN PICS |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/stay-or-go-messi-in-legal-tangle-with-barcelona-over-leaving-club-323132" hreflang="en">Stay or go? Messi in legal tangle with Barcelona over leaving club</a>

The matter could very well end up in court if Barcelona don’t allow Messi to leave the club, as per a clause which allows him to walk out for free. However, both Messi and Barcelona won’t look forward to such face-off and could come to a mutual agreement. But all depends on how the meeting and Bartomeu and Jorge Messi ends.

Since making his debut in the 2003/04 campaign, Messi has played 731 games for Barcelona, scoring 634 times in all competitions.

A lot has been said and written about since Lionel Messi officially sent a fax to Barcelona asking the club to allow him to leave for free. While Barcelona and La Liga have maintained that a full release clause of EUR 700 million needs to be paid by a club to have Messi’s services, many reports have stated that the release clause expired after the completion of 2019-20 season, triggering another clause which allows the Argentine to leave for free.

A lot has been said and written about since Lionel Messi officially sent a fax to Barcelona asking the club to allow him to leave for free. While Barcelona and La Liga have maintained that a full release clause of EUR 700 million needs to be paid by a club to have Messi’s services, many reports have stated that the release clause expired after the completion of 2019-20 season, triggering another clause which allows the Argentine to leave for free. While Messi hasn’t come out in public about this, as a mark of respect for his life-long club, Barcelona aren’t treating the six-time Ballon d’Or that well. Messi didn’t show up for the PCR test and training as Barca started their pre-season training with the left-footed megastar. As per latest reports, Messi’s father Jorge is set to arrive in Barcelona to start talks with club president Josep Bartomeu on Thursday. While Bartomeu doesn’t want to listen to anything which relates to Messi leaving the club, Jorge is set to ask the Barca boss to allow his son to leave the club. IN PICS | Lionel Messi's next team: Clubs who can really afford to sign the Argentine Apparently, Messi hasn’t received Bartomeu’s call while ignoring his messages on WhatsApp with the Barca president trying to convince the Argentine that the club can get back their glory days. Interestingly, officials from Manchester City, especially Ferran Soriano is in Spain, and reportedly, is set to meet Messi’s father later in this week. Senior officials in Barcelona have started to think that time is up for Messi and that the 33-year-old has made up his mind about leaving the club. IN PICS | Stay or go? Messi in legal tangle with Barcelona over leaving club The matter could very well end up in court if Barcelona don’t allow Messi to leave the club, as per a clause which allows him to walk out for free. However, both Messi and Barcelona won’t look forward to such face-off and could come to a mutual agreement. But all depends on how the meeting and Bartomeu and Jorge Messi ends. Since making his debut in the 2003/04 campaign, Messi has played 731 games for Barcelona, scoring 634 times in all competitions.

Lionel Messi's father Jorge set to meet Josep Bartomeu as Man City stay alert

La Liga on Sunday released a statement saying Lionel Messi’s contract with Barcelona is still valid and the league will not allow the transfer of the Argentine to any other club unless the EUR 700 million release clause is paid.&nbsp;

Messi stunned the entire world as he earlier asked Barcelona to allow him to leave for free, as per a clause in his contract, and even didn’t attend the PCR test conducted by the club on Sunday.&nbsp;

“In compliance with the applicable rule, La Liga will not approve a request to be de-registered as a player with the Spanish football federation, unless the amount in the release clause has been paid,” La Liga said in a statement.

IN PICS |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/lionel-messis-next-team-clubs-who-can-really-afford-to-sign-the-argentine-323423" hreflang="en">Lionel Messi's next team: Clubs who can really afford to sign the Argentine</a>

Messi was due at Barcelona’s training ground at 10:15 am local time on Sunday but didn’t arrive, clearing the air that he is serious about leaving the club. Reportedly, his father Jorge Messi is due to arrive in Barcelona this week in a bid to have discussions with club president Josep Bartomeu.&nbsp;

Messi’s decision to leave Barcelona, his lifelong club, came after the Blaugrana’s humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League 2019-20 quarter-final.

IN PICS&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/whats-next-for-lionel-messi-a-record-breaking-career-in-pictures-323230" hreflang="en">What's next for Lionel Messi? A record-breaking career in pictures</a>

However, as reported by many media outlets, Messi’s EUR 700 million release clause has expired after the completion of 2019-20 season and the six-time Ballon d’Or winner is clear to leave for free. But the left-footed maestro wants to compensate the club he loves and favourites to sign him, Man City are willing to offer around EUR 100-150 million for him.

Reportedly, Messi wants a winning project again and believes re-uniting with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City will fulfill his dream of lifting the UEFA Champions League again. 
&nbsp;

La Liga on Sunday released a statement saying Lionel Messi’s contract with Barcelona is still valid and the league will not allow the transfer of the Argentine to any other club unless the EUR 700 million release clause is paid.

La Liga on Sunday released a statement saying Lionel Messi’s contract with Barcelona is still valid and the league will not allow the transfer of the Argentine to any other club unless the EUR 700 million release clause is paid. Messi stunned the entire world as he earlier asked Barcelona to allow him to leave for free, as per a clause in his contract, and even didn’t attend the PCR test conducted by the club on Sunday. “In compliance with the applicable rule, La Liga will not approve a request to be de-registered as a player with the Spanish football federation, unless the amount in the release clause has been paid,” La Liga said in a statement. IN PICS | Lionel Messi's next team: Clubs who can really afford to sign the Argentine Messi was due at Barcelona’s training ground at 10:15 am local time on Sunday but didn’t arrive, clearing the air that he is serious about leaving the club. Reportedly, his father Jorge Messi is due to arrive in Barcelona this week in a bid to have discussions with club president Josep Bartomeu. Messi’s decision to leave Barcelona, his lifelong club, came after the Blaugrana’s humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League 2019-20 quarter-final. IN PICS | What's next for Lionel Messi? A record-breaking career in pictures However, as reported by many media outlets, Messi’s EUR 700 million release clause has expired after the completion of 2019-20 season and the six-time Ballon d’Or winner is clear to leave for free. But the left-footed maestro wants to compensate the club he loves and favourites to sign him, Man City are willing to offer around EUR 100-150 million for him. Reportedly, Messi wants a winning project again and believes re-uniting with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City will fulfill his dream of lifting the UEFA Champions League again.

Lionel Messi will be allowed to leave Barcelona only if release clause is paid: La Liga

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Lionel Messi to begin 'formal' talks with Man City in January: Report

Lionel Messi's father Jorge set to meet Josep Bartomeu as Man City stay alert

Lionel Messi will be allowed to leave Barcelona only if release clause is paid: La Liga