Lionel Messi has confirmed that he is staying at Barcelona and opened up on how his family handled news of his plans to leave.
The Argentinian intended to depart the Camp Nou for another club after growing frustrated by the club’s lack of ambition.
Barcelona, however, refused to let the 33-year-old leave after holding on to a clause which said he can only leave if his hefty buyout clause is paid in full.
Breaking his silence on the whole saga, Messi said his family was in tears when he told them he wanted to leave Barca.
“When I communicated my wish to leave to my wife and children, it was a brutal drama,” he told Goal.
“The whole family began crying, my children did not want to leave Barcelona, nor did they want to change schools.
“But I looked further afield and I want to compete at the highest level, win titles, compete in the Champions League. You can win or lose in it, because it is very difficult, but you have to compete.
“At least compete for it and let us not fall apart in Rome, Liverpool, Lisbon. All that led me to think about that decision that I wanted to carry out.”
The Barca captain also suggested that he stayed because he didn’t want to drag the issue with the club in court.
“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 said.
“I will continue at Barca and my attitude will not change no matter how much I have wanted to go.
“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.
“Barca gave me everything and I gave it everything. I know that it never crossed my mind to take Barca to court,” he added.
