Lionel Messi’s reputation would be “very damaged” if he were to leave Barcelona, claims La Liga president Javier Tebas.
The Argentine forward did push for the exits at Camp Nou over the summer.
Having become disillusioned with life in Catalunya on the back of a disappointing end to the 2019-20 campaign, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner felt the time was right to take on a new challenge.
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He was of the opinion that an exit clause in his contract would allow him to head elsewhere, but Barca had other ideas.