A massive turnaround happened for Lionel Messi on Thursday, August 5, as his team, FC Barcelona, announced that the Argentine football superstar would not play for the club next season. 

FC Barcelona announced it through its website, expressing their gratitude for the Argentine star's time with the club. The team also announced it on its social media platforms like Twitter, garnering different reactions from fans.

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Lionel Messi to Leave FC Barcelona

In a statement, FC Barcelona noted that the decision came out despite the club and Messi agreed to sign a new contract/ However, the team said this could not happen because of Spanish LaLiga regulations on player registration.

Under the La Liga rules, FC Barcelona would have to cut roughly $200 million in salary to retain Lionel Messi in their club, according to The New York Times. 

Yahoo! Sports reported that the only way for the club to retain the Argentine football superstar was if La Liga would grant the team an exception. But in a July statement, La Liga's chief executive, Javier Tebas, said the exception would not happen.

According to CNN, Lionel Messi's contract with FC Barcelona that expired in June amounted to $672 million. The said contract made Lionel Messi the highest-paid athlete in the history of sports.

Messi said last year that he was telling the club "all year" that he wanted to go as he believed it was time to step aside and could do it, referencing a clause in his contract that he could do so for free.

However, the football superstar stayed as the club disagreed that they were not willing to reduce the $897 million release clause.

According to previous reports, Lionel Messi agreed to a five-year deal to remain with Barcelona in July. However, financial issues with the club prevented that agreement from being officially done.

"As a result of this situation, Messi shall not be staying on at FC Barcelona," the club said in its statement, adding that they "deeply regret" that Messi and the club's wishes would not be fulfilled.

Despite the parting, FC Barcelona still expressed their gratitude to Lionel Messi for his contribution and wished him all the best for his future endeavors in his personal and professional life.

Lionel Messi in FC Barcelona

The Argentine football superstar had his debut with FC Barcelona in 2004. Lionel Messi was also known to win 10 La Liga titles and four Champion Leagues with the Catalan Club.

As he spent almost his entire career with FC Barcelona, he scored at least 464 goals while in the club in over 17 seasons.

In April, Messi was known to win his 35th trophy with the club, as FC Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao with 4-0 in the finals of Copa del Ray. 

Their triumph in the said league was Barcelona's first trophy since 2019. Meanwhile, Lionel Messi won his first Copa America when he played for Argentina last month.

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This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Joshua Summers

WATCH: Lionel Messi is LEAVING Barcelona! - From ESPN FC