BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lionel Messi has told Barcelona he wishes to go away the club after practically two a long time with the Spanish giants.

The club confirmed to The Linked Press on Tuesday that the Argentina great despatched a document expressing his wish to leave.

The announcement will come 11 days just after Barcelona’s humiliating 8-2 reduction to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals, one of the worst defeats in the player’s profession and in the club’s heritage.

The defeat capped a tricky season for Barcelona — the very first with out a title due to the fact 2007-08 — and ignited just one of its worst crises ever.

The 33-yr-old Messi has gained a file 6 Ballon d’Or awards in the course of his time at Barcelona as the best participant in the globe, and has aided the club acquire 10 Spanish league titles and four Champions League crowns.

Even so, his try to exit the club could now direct to a authorized battle in between the two sides above a clause in his agreement.

Barcelona stated the doc despatched by Messi referenced a clause making it possible for him to depart for free of charge at the finish of the year. Even so, the club reported the deadline for triggering that clause expired in June and that it would request legal suggestions. Messi’s deal also consists of a 700 million euro ($826 million) buyout clause.

The Spanish season would usually have ended in May well but was pushed again since of the coronavirus pandemic.

If Messi can go away for cost-free, he will have no scarcity of suitors. Nevertheless, only a handful of clubs could realistically afford to pay for to pay out his wages even with no a transfer rate — with mega-prosperous Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City commonly witnessed as maybe the most very likely destinations.

Messi experienced been outspoken about his dissatisfaction with some of Barcelona’s selections this year. He had been silent given that the reduction to Bayern, nevertheless, elevating uncertainties about his future.

Club president Josep Bartomeu experienced explained he was confident that Messi would end his job with Barcelona, and that he was a critical part of incoming coach Ronald Koeman’s plans for the team.

Koeman satisfied with Messi last 7 days and the player reportedly explained to the Dutchman that he observed himself a lot more out than in at the club at that moment.

The mentor reportedly had already informed other vital pieces of the squad that they had been not in his designs, such as Luis Suárez, Arturo Vidal, Samuel Umtiti and Ivan Rakitic.

Soon after the reduction to Bayern, Barcelona announced it would make “profound” alterations to the initial group and a “wide-ranging” restructuring of the club. The alterations started with the firing of mentor Quique Setién a handful of days immediately after the Champions League defeat in Portugal, and new presidential elections have been called for March.

Messi arrived at Barcelona as a teenager in 2001, becoming a member of the club’s famed La Masia youth academy. He to start with-team debut took place in 2003 as a 16-yr-previous, and due to the fact then he led Barcelona to 34 titles. He holds most particular person records at the club, scoring 634 objectives and earning 276 assists in 731 appearances with the club.

Previous Barcelona defender Carles Puyol, who was the club captain all through much of Messi’s profession, tweeted his guidance to the Argentine.

“Respect and admiration, Leo,” Puyol wrote. “You have all my aid, mate.”

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Azzoni reported from Madrid.

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