End of an era: Messi to leave Barcelona, divorce could be ugly

After dozens of titles, hundreds of goals and countless records, Lionel Messi’s spectacular career at Barcelona could be coming to an abrupt end.

Lionel Messi has told Barcelona he wants to leave the club after nearly two decades with the Spanish giant.

Messi told Barcelona on Tuesday that he wants to leave after nearly two decades at the club, having grown unhappy after a trophy-less season ended with a humiliating loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

The club confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday that the Argentina great sent a document expressing his desire to leave.

The announcement comes 11 days after Barcelona’s humiliating 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals, one of the worst defeats in the player’s career and in the club’s history.

The defeat capped a difficult season for Barcelona — the first without a title since 2007-08 — and ignited one of its worst crises ever.

The 33-year-old Messi has won a record six Ballon d’Or awards during his time at Barcelona as the top player in the world, and has helped the club win 10 La Liga titles and four UEFA Champions League crowns.

However, his attempt to exit the club could now lead to a legal battle between the two sides over a clause in his contract.

Barcelona said the document sent by Messi referenced a clause allowing him to leave for free at the end of the season. However, the club said the deadline for triggering that clause expired in June and that it would seek legal advice.

If Messi can leave for free, he will have no shortage of suitors. However, only a handful of clubs could realistically afford to pay his wages even without a transfer fee — with mega-rich Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City widely seen as perhaps the most likely destinations.

Messi had been outspoken about his dissatisfaction with some of Barcelona’s decisions this season. He had been silent since the loss to Bayern, though, raising doubts about his future.

Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu had said he was confident that Messi would finish his career with Barcelona, and that he was a crucial part of incoming coach Ronald Koeman’s plans for the team.

Koeman met with Messi last week and the player reportedly told the Dutchman that he saw himself more out than in at the club at that moment.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)