Messi ready to move forward with Barcelona
Lionel Messi wants to bring an end to any disagreements with Barcelona, calling for everyone at the club to show a united front in its bid for success this season.
The Argentine superstar stunned the footballing world when he announced he sensationally wanted to leave Camp Nou in August, believing he could still activate a clause to terminate his contract and walk away for nothing.
However, with both Barca and LaLiga insisting that option had expired in June, leaving any potential buyer to either negotiate with the LaLiga side or pay his €700million release clause, Messi opted not to pursue the matter any further.
Confirming an exit was "impossible" after his father and agent Jorge met with president Josep Maria Bartomeu, the 33-year-old told Goal Spain he would be staying put to see out the remaining year of his contract.
Messi converted from the spot as the Ronald Koeman era began with a 4-0 thrashing of Villarreal at Camp Nou and, confirming has now made clear his desire to draw a line under what has been a tumultuous period for both himself and the club.
"After so many disagreements, I would like to bring an end to everything. We all have to be united and assume that the best is yet to come," the six-time Ballon d'Or winner said.
In excerpts of an exclusive interview that will be released in full on Wednesday, Messi insisted he had only acted with Barcelona's best interests at heart.
"I take responsibility for my errors and if they existed, it was only to make Barcelona better and stronger," he said.
Sending a message to the fans, Messi said: "If at any moment, any of them were annoyed by something that I said or did, let there be no doubts that anything I did was always with the club's best interests in mind."
Messi was strongly linked with a move to Manchester City, which would have seen him team up again with former Barca boss Pep Guardiola in the Premier League.
