The Blaugrana legend concedes he never received an official offer to depart Camp Nou and is now hopeful of ending his career with the Liga champions
Lionel Messi has revealed that he almost left Barcelona in 2014 after he and his father were charged with tax fraud.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was alleged to have used tax havens in Belize and Uruguay to conceal earnings from image rights, and as such defrauded Spain of €4.1 million between 2007 and 2009.
Messi was eventually found guilty and sentenced to 21 months in prison and a €2m fine before his prison time was amended to a €252,000 (£223,000/$288,000) fine in July 2017.