Despite saying 'unhappy', Leonel Messi returns to training field of Barcelona
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Barcelona have posted this image of Lionel Messi modelling their new third kit to the club website (Image Courtesy: FC Barcelona)
Barcelona: Lionel Messi showed up at FC Barcelona's training field on Monday for the first time since the 33-year-old forward announced his intention to leave the club 11 days ago.
Messi failed to appear for routine PCR tests on August 20 ahead of Barca's return to training, and did not attend any of the sessions under new coach Ronald Koeman, reports Xinhua news agency.
But on September 4, the striker published a video message confirming that he would remain at the club for the 2020-21 season to see out the remaining year of his contract.
In his video, despite saying "unhappy", Messi explained he would see out the last year of his deal because he would "never go to court" against the club.
On Monday morning, Barcelona had released an image of Lionel Messi posing in the pink shirt of their third kit for 2020-21 ahead of his return to training with the club.
Messi last month had informed Barcelona that he wanted to depart this summer and intended to utilise a clause in his contract which he and his representatives claimed allowed him to do so on a free transfer.
Barca insisted that the time had passed for the clause to be activated and that the player would need to pay the €700m release clause in his contract if another club wanted to sign him this summer.
"I am going to continue in the club because the president (Josep Bartomeu) told me that the only way to leave was to pay the 700million clause, that that is impossible, and then the only other way was to go to court'' said Messi subsequently revealed in an interview with Goal
He told that he had reversed his decision, saying he could never go to court against the club to secure a move in the interview published on Friday. See the full interview here