Lionel Messi has cleared the air around his future and said on Friday that he would be staying at Barcelona till the end of the 2020-21 season when his four-year contract will also conclude.

The 33-year-old Barcelona veteran has also shed light on the reason why he wanted part ways with his childhood club. Rumours were afloat about the Argentine’s growing disparity with Barcelona management – especially with club president Josep Bartomeu – for a long time.

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Reportedly, it has reached a boiling point after Barcelona’s embarrassing 2-8 beating against Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. But, Messi has categorically denied that it had anything to do with Barcelona’s shocking exit from Europe’s premier club competition.

“I told the club, including the president, that I wanted to go. I’ve been telling him that all year. I believed it was time to step aside,” Messi told Goal.

“I believed that the club needed more young players, new players and I thought my time in Barcelona was over. I felt very sorry because I always said that I wanted to finish my career here.

“It did not come because of the Champions League result against Bayern, no – I had been thinking about the decision for a long time.

“I told the president and, well, the president always said that at the end of the season I could decide if I wanted to go or if I wanted to stay and in the end he did not keep his word.”

Meanwhile, the six-time Ballon D’Or winner on Friday took a U-turn and decided to remain at Barcelona till the end of the next season. Citing that it would be impossible to pay the 700m euro release clause, Messi said he would complete his four-year contact and leave as a free agent.

“I didn’t feel happy this last year at the club,” explained Messi.

“I have been (wanting to leave) all year. I thought the team needed younger players and I thought my epoch at Barcelona had ended. It was a complicated year. I suffered a lot in training, in games and in the dressing room. Everything was very difficult and there came a moment when I decided to look for new objectives.”

“I wanted to go, and I was in my right to do so, because my contract said I was free. I wanted to go because I was thinking about being happy in my last years in football,” he commented.