Barcelona legend Rivaldo is not confident that the club will keep star player Lionel Messi beyond his current deal which expires at the end of this season. Messi is widely regarded as the best player in the history of football and he could be a free agent by next summer.
Lionel Messi has suffered heartbreak in the Champions League over the last five years and he’s set to be frustrated with the Nou Camp giants’ inability to win the competition since the last triumph. His lack of conviction over the direction of the club led him to hand in a transfer request while the Josep Maria Bartomeu-led board was still at the helm of affairs.
Bartomeu and his board members have resigned from their respective positions in the aftermath of Messi asking to leave the club in the summer.The Barcelona captain was prevented from leaving the club at the start of this campaign with one year remaining on his contract as at then. Bartomeu and his board members had insisted that the €700m release clause in his contract must be paid in full despite the fact that he had one year left.
Rivaldo has spoken about Messi and his current situation at the Nou Camp for the first time. He talked about the 33-year-old superstar in an interview with Betfair. Rivaldo represented the Blaugrana between 1997 and 2002. The Brazilian was a Barcelona player when he was named the recipient of the 2001 Ballon d’Or Award.
According to Rivaldo, Barcelona will have to win a major trophy for Messi to consider staying at the club and that he can’t see the player staying beyond next summer amidst the strong interest from Pep Guardiola and Manchester City. The former Brazilian international believes winning either the Champions League title or the La Liga title is the only thing that can convince Messi to stay.