Lionel Messi: Superstar decides to stay with Barcelona

Lionel Messi has confirmed that he's going to stay at Barcelona for another season.

The club's all-time top goalscorer said it would be impossible for any team to afford him and said he doesn't want to have to face "the club I love" in court.

Just last week, the 33-year-old said that he was planning on leaving the Spanish giants and that his contract allowed him to do so for free.

Premier League side Manchester City were favourites to sign him.

However, he's now backtracked after Barcelona - supported by the Spanish top division - said any team who wanted to buy him would have to buy-out his contract, costing £625 million.

Messi is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time and is Barcelona's record goalscorer

'Impossible' to leave

"I thought and was sure that I was free to leave," Messi told football publication, Goal.

"I told the president and, well, 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 keep his word.

"Now I am going to continue in the club because the president told me that the only way to leave was to pay the 700m clause, and that this is impossible."

Messi has a clause in his Barcelona contract that means he's allowed to leave the club on a free transfer at the end of every season if he wants to.

But he had to make the decision on whether he wanted to leave by 10 June as part of this.

However, Messi has since argued that he was unable to do this because the coronavirus pandemic meant the season was still going on at that point.

"Now they cling to the fact that I did not say it before 10 June, when it turns out that on 10 June we were competing for La Liga in the middle of this awful coronavirus and this disease altered all the season," Messi said.

"There was another way and it was to go to trial. I would never go to court against Barca because it is the club that I love, which gave me everything since I arrived.

"It is the club of my life, I have made my life here," he added.

Messi's father (left) has been dealing with the situation

Messi's father and agent, Jorge Messi, held talks with Barcelona this week and insisted his son could move for free.

Manchester City were one of the clubs expected to compete to try to sign him if this was the case.

However, that move was blocked by the Spanish La Liga division, who backed Barcelona in the argument.

Messi is yet to return to training at the club ahead of the new season under a brand new manager, Ronald Koeman.

His contract is finished next summer so he will be allowed to start negotiating a move from January.