Lionel Messi, the Argentine football star, informed the Barcelona football club in a memo that wants to leave the team, a familiar source of the matter who told CNN. According to Josep Maria Bartomeu, the club president told Barca TV after the humiliating 8-2 defeat of the Catalan side by Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of Champions League. Further, he added that Barca told him his wish several times to finish his career at Barca.

Lionel Messi has told Barcelona, the soccer club where he’s spent more than half his life, that he wants to leave, invoking a clause in his contract that would let him switch teams without Barcelona receiving a transfer fee. https://t.co/Gi4j5ea8DM

— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 25, 2020

Messi and Barcelona announced a contract extension in July 2017, which read that the club would keep Messi with the team until 30th June 2021. It is reportedly worth around $645,000 (€565,000) per week. The six-time Ballon d’Or winner has been with Barcelona since 2000. Messi, 33 made his league debut for Barcelona in 2004. The Argentine assisted Barcelona to win ten league titles in Messi’s time at the club, besides the Champions League four times. The legendary player considered one of the greatest footballers of all time.

Carles Puyol expressed his support to Messi

Carles Puyol, the former Barcelona defender, the former captain and teammate to Messi, expressed his support to Argentina in a tweet. Furthermore, Puyol wrote that respect and admiration, Leo. He showed all his support to his friend. Barcelona didn’t respond to the request of CNN for comment.

Respeto y admiración, Leo. Todo mi apoyo, amigo.

— Carles Puyol (@Carles5puyol) August 25, 2020

Should Messi leave Barcelona, it believed that only a slight selection of teams could credibly afford his salaries, with Manchester City – led by the former boss of Messi at Barca, Pep Guardiola – and champions League contenders Saint-Germain possibly in the mix as the next destination of Messi after the Bayern disgrace reports started to swirl that Messi considering leaving the Catalan before his agreement ending.

Barcelona dismissed the coach Quique Seiten and replaced him with Ronald Koeman. The defeat of Catalan by Bayern confirmed that for the first time since 2007-2008, Barcelona ended the season without winning any silverware.

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