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Barcelona presidential candidate Pere Riera has surprisingly revealed that he wouldn't do whatever it takes to keep Lionel Messi at the club. He claims that he will leave the decision to the Argentine and will not force the forward to stay.
Joseph Bartomeu resigned last week from his post as the Barcelona president after enough 'no confidence' votes were collected. The elections dates have not been moved forward, with the voting to take place in January instead of March.
Pere Riera has already announced that he is in the running to become the next president. He already has plans for the club, but they do not have Lionel Messi at its center. Riera said:
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"In my opinion, Messi has to stay at Barcelona and not with history. It's not good for anyone. In the end, it's Messi who decides [his future]. I very much doubt that Messi wanted to leave Barcelona [in the summer]. I wouldn't pull out all the stops for Messi."
Lionel Messi confirmed a couple of months back that he wanted to leave Barcelona this summer. However, the club and La Liga insisted that he was still under contract as the clause to help him leave for free had expired.
The Argentine star also pointed out that he stayed at Barcelona because he did not want to take the Catalan giants to court. Talking to Goal in an exclusive interview, Lionel Messi had said:
"I'm staying because the president said the only way to go was to pay the €700m clause, which is impossible, [or] the other way was to go to court. I would never go to court against Barca because it is the club that I love, that gave me everything since I arrived, it is the club of my life, I have made my life here. I wasn't happy and I wanted to leave. I have not been allowed this in any way and I will stay at the club so as not to get into a legal dispute."
Manchester City are still interested in signing Lionel Messi and are reportedly readying a pre-contract in January. The Argentine's current deal at Barcelona expires in the summer.
