It looked like it would be a Messi mess, but it turned to be much ado about nothing.

And just when soccer fan were getting their heads around the idea of Lionel Messi playing for a club other than Barcelona.

He did say that was his preference, getting out of Dodge, following another Champions League exit, this one by the humiliating scoreline of 8-2, in favor of Bayern Munich.

Where would the six-time Ballon d’Or winner go?

Manchester City was nominated as a contender, given that (like Paris Saint-Germain) the club is owned by a sheikh who wants nothing more than to buy enough talent to win the Champions League, the planet’s greatest club competition.

How about one of Italy’s top teams? Juventus or Inter, maybe? Could Bayern figure out a way to use the greatest attacking player in the history of the game?

(To the tune of 444 club goals and 70 for Argentina.)

Maybe he could go to Major League Soccer, like David Beckham did, 13 years ago. Leo could join the Galaxy and step into the great and ancient (since 2018) rivalry known as “El Trafico“.

Barca versus Real Madrid; Galaxy versus LAFC; pretty much the same thing.

So what happened?

To recap:

Last week, Messi went public with his preference to leave Barcelona, the only team he has known, but a club that seems to be sinking into a Not Quite Good Enough rut. A slow spell hammered home in the Champs quarters by Bayern. Messi apparently was frustrated that Barcelona seemed to be slipping and team officials were powerless to stop it.

So, Messi was a no-show at the first day of training, and he re-iterated that he wanted to be gone. The soccer world blew up.

Then, today, he moseyed out of Camp Nou and sheepishly said, “Never mind!”

He said he is fine with staying with the only club he has played for, Barcelona, which has not won the Champions League since 2015, when coach Pep Guardiola still had hair.

What happened was this:

Barca officials pulled out the contract Messi signed a few years ago, and reminded him of the clause calling for a 700-million fee, payable to Barca, if he left the club before the contract expired, which will be after the coming season. As in 2020-21.

Suddenly, Messi was a lot less interested in getting out asap. Not even Manchester City will hand over 700 million euros just to be able to negotiate with Messi.

So, Leo going nowhere this season. One more year with Barca, pretending to be enthused as Barcelona tries to rebuild around him.

Where will he play next? Check back in June.