Lionel Messi, who has been synonymous with the football club Barcelona, over the last 16 years has decided to move on to greener pastures, reports say. Messi has handed in a transfer request to the Barcelona board after the 8-2 thrashing by Bayern Munich, in the UEFA Champions League semi-final. Many football fans are calling this the end of an era at Barcelona.
After the 8-2 loss, the club took immediate action, sacking the then manager Quique Setien and appointing club legend, Ronald Koeman as his replacement. Koeman who was part of the ‘Dream Team’ built by the legendary Johan Cruyff in Barcelona, will have a difficult job on hand after losing arguably the best footballer the world has ever seen.
Coming through La Masia (Barcelona youth academy) as a young boy, Messi has only played for the Catalan club all his professional career. The six-time Ballon d'Or winner is considered one of the greatest players in football history. Messi is also the record goalscorer of FC Barcelona and has won the Pichichi (golden boot for La Liga) for the team a record seven times.
He has already established himself as a club legend and always maintained how he wants to finish his career at Barcelona.
Ever since the transfers of Andres Iniesta and Xavi, Barcelona has not been able to reach the lofty standards set by themselves. The Catalan club has crashed out of the Champions League in the past three seasons with humiliating defeats to Roma, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich respectively.
These losses are said to have forced Messi to submit a transfer request to the board. His contract has a release clause of 631 million pounds, but his contract also has a clause which states that Messi can cancel his contract whenever he wants to. However, reports say the clause expired in June, which means Messi could face a legal battle if he chooses to leave.
Reports say that Messi faxed his transfer request to the President of the football club, Josep Maria Bartomeu on 25 August. The letter written in Spanish went on to read, "I appreciate all the opportunities for personal growth and professional preparation that were offered to me during the time I worked. Learnings that allowed me to consolidate my technical and human profile, but for personal reasons this difficult decision was made to me, which I hope will be made in the best way by the management of this club."
The fans of the prestigious club gathered outside the offices of the club, demanding the resignation of the President Josep Bartomeu.
A dear friend of Messi and also a club legend, Carles Puyol took to Twitter to support Messi. He said, "Respect and admiration, Leo. All my support, Amigo."
The Argentinian has been linked with a move to link up with his ex-manager Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. He has also been linked with a move to Juventus.