On Tuesday, news broke that Lionel Messi has submitted an official letter to Barcelona expressing his desire to leave the club this summer. The Argentine’s contract with the Catalan giants ends in 2021, but seeming unhappy with the club’s recent direction, the 33-year-old wants an immediate exit. This decision shocked the entire footballing world and it no surprise that the Blaugrana faithful gathered outside their home stadium to voice displeasure over their captain’s uncertain future. Lionel Messi Set to Leave Barcelona, Expresses Desire to Club President Josep Maria Bartomeu!

Lionel Messi’s decision to leave Barcelona comes on the back of the Champions League humiliation by Bayern Munich, which saw drastic changes at the club. Despite several fans wanting President Josep Bartomeu to resign, manager Quique Setien and sporting director Eric Abidal were sacked instead. Lionel Messi Expresses Desire to Leave Barcelona; Luis Suarez, Carles Puyol Back Argentine's Decision.

Lionel Messi’s contract with Barcelona ends in 2021 but the Argentine believes that a clause allows him to leave for free in the summer. And as soon as the news of the 33-year-old wanting to leave surfaced, fans started storming outside Camp Nou, in order to persuade their captain to stay and slam the board for their part in this decision as chants of ‘Messi Stay’ and ‘Bartomeu Out’ echoed outside the stadium.

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Fans Outside Camp Nou

Former Barcelona captain Carles Puyol and striker Luis Suarez reacted to the news of Lionel Messi wanting an exit and both seem to back the decision which clearly shows that off-field problems have played a huge role in this decision than on-field issues.

Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta came out and asked the Bartomeu to resign as he thinks that it could persuade Messi to stay. ‘Bartomeu and his Board must resign immediately, if they resigned there would still be hope that Messi would stay at Barca’ he said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 26, 2020 09:10 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).