FC Barcelona fans gather at the club's offices to protest against the club's board of directors, after learning of the letter from the footballer and team captain Leo Messi, in which he communicates his intention to leave the club, at Barcelona in Spain, on Tuesday — AFP 
MADRID, Aug 26 (AFP): Six-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi told Barcelona he wants to leave - on a free transfer - in a "bombshell" fax on Tuesday that is expected to trigger a legal battle over a buy-out clause worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Signalling the end of an era at Barcelona, where Messi is the record scorer and has won four Champions League titles, the disgruntled Argentine wants to terminate his contract "unilaterally" by triggering a release clause, a source told the news agency.
Relations have plummeted this year and speculation swirled about Messi's departure after this month's humiliating 8-2 Champions League quarter-final defeat to Bayern Munich, which left Barca without a trophy for the first time since 2007.
The 33-year-old's demand sparked protests against Barcelona's under-fire president Josep Maria Bartomeu outside the Camp Nou where Messi, synonymous with the club's most successful period, is worshipped by fans.
"I don't see him anywhere else. I can't believe it," said Ruben Tejero, 28, one of about 100 fans at the stadium calling for Bartomeu to resign.
"I prefer to think it's an ultimatum given to management for Bartomeu to go."
Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan are among those to have been linked to Messi, who is among the greatest players in history and has wages to match, with a reported weekly salary of nearly a million euros.
Barcelona have yet to react officially but are understood to believe Messi's release clause expired in June, and that he remains under contract until the end of the 2021 season.
"In principle, this clause expired on June 10, but the unusual nature of this season disrupted by the coronavirus opened the way for Messi to ask to be released from his contract now," wrote Spanish sports daily Marca.
"It's the first step towards opening negotiations over his departure, on the basis of which his release clause amounts to 700 million euros ($828 million)."
Messi joined Barcelona's youth academy at the age of 13 and made his debut in 2004 as a 17-year-old, before going on to score a club record 634 goals.
But his future at Barca was thrown into serious doubt by the 8-2 loss to Bayern, the first time Barca had conceded eight goals in a game since losing to Sevilla 8-0 in the 1946 Spanish Cup.
The defeat has sparked drastic changes. Coach QuiqueSetien was sacked after barely six months in charge, and sporting director Eric Abidal was also dismissed.
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
