Lionel Messi Snubs FC Barcelona, Will Not Return To Club This Weekend

Lionel Messi will turn down an invitation from FC Barcelona to attend Camp Nou this weekend, and see what will be the last game held at the stadium before it is renovated plus the final home appearances of close friends Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets in the club’s colours according to SPORT.

Busquets and Alba have both announced their departures from the Blaugrana at the end of the season while linked to joining Messi in Saudi Arabia next term.

According to El Chiringuito, the trio have accepted offers from Al-Hilal with Messi set to be paid a mouthwatering sum of €350 million ($375 million) a year which would immediately put him in line to top Forbes’ list of the World’s Highest-Paid Athletes last headed by generational rival Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Hilal’s arch nemesis club Al-Nassr.

Al-Hilal have denied that there is any agreement in place to Mundo Deportivo, as has Messi’s father and agent Jorge Messi in an official statement.

Meanwhile, Barca continue to try and put together a viability plan showing they can make Messi’s potential return work financially when he becomes a free agent on June 30.

In trying to make him feel at home again, Barca invited Messi to attend their final home game of the season against Mallorca on Sunday where Alba and Busquets will receive a hearty farewell with their family and friends in attendance.

Unfortunately because of his commitments at PSG, though, it is highly unlikely that Messi and his kin will form part of the group.

The Ligue 1 leaders play on Saturday and still have one final game to play on Sunday next week. This means that Messi isn’t on holiday yet, and if PSG happen to lose to Strasbourg later this evening, Cristophe Galtier could call his team in for training tomorrow or on Monday.

The last time Messi skipped training, to complete commercial duties in Saudi Arabia where he is a tourism ambassador, the Argentine was reprimanded and forced to issue a grovelling apology.

Messi wants to stay committed to his current employers while he is still under contract. Once the Ligue 1 season has wrapped up, though, Messi and his camp are expected to make an announcement on their next step which could also involve crossing the Atlantic to Inter Miami in the MLS.