Report: Messi to announce he's staying with Barcelona

Is Lionel Messi set to stay with Barcelona after a tumultuous week of speculation? Photo by Henri Szwarc/Abaca/Sipa USA

Report: Lionel Messi to announce he's staying with Barcelona

By Erin Walsh | Last updated Sep 4, 2020 11:15 AM ET

Lionel Messi's dream to take his talents elsewhere have been crushed by Barcelona as the club is refusing to sell him for less than €700 million.

With that being said, the Argentinian star is set to announce that he'll be remaining with Barcelona next season, according to ESPN's Moises Llorens.

A las 17:00 Messi hace oficial que se queda en el @FCBarcelona_es...
— moisESPN (@moillorens) September 4, 2020

The news comes after Messi was drawing strong interest from Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.

While PSG didn't offer him a deal, it was reported that City were offering him a five-year deal that would keep him in the Premier League for three years and then ship him off to Major League Soccer's New York City FC for two years.

Messi and his father/agent Jorge met with Barcelona this week to discuss the 33-year-old's future with the club, and talks reportedly went well. It even was reported that Barca felt they'd be able to retain Messi after those discussions, and their hunch, apparently, will end up being correct.

Messi missed Barca's coronavirus testing and the first week of practice as he held out in hopes of being able to move on from the club, but now he'll likely report to training next week, ready to embark on his 17th season with the club.

Erin Walsh

Erin Walsh is a Boston sports fan through and through. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Bridgewater State University and currently is in pursuit of her Master's Degree in Journalism from Northeastern University. Follow her on Twitter @ewalsh90

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