Former Rangers target Lionel Messi is believed to have told Barcelona he is leaving.
Messi, who failed to score in the 0-0 draw between Barcelona and Rangers at Ibrox in 2007, has been the subject of intense speculation since his side's 8-2 defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League earlier this month.
It now appears that Messi has made his mind up to leave, on the same day that Colombian journalist Pipe Sierra claimed Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos has asked his club to accept an £18m bid for his services from Lille.
Marca report that Messi has told Barcelona that he wishes to execute a clause in his contract that will allow him to leave.
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Highly-rated Messi has scored 634 goals in 731 games for Barcelona, despite failing to find the target against Allan McGregor at Ibrox in 2007.
In 2004, Rangers boss Alex McLeish made an attempt to bring Messi to Ibrox on loan, but the move fell through and McLeish went on to sign Alex Rae.
Messi's fellow South American Morelos was left out of his side's 2-0 win against Kilmarnock at Ibrox on Saturday, and Sierra today tweeted : "CONFIRMED: Colombian forward Alfredo Morelos (24) has formally requested the #Rangers to accept the 20M offer € made by him by #Lille."
Bayer Leverkusen star Kai Havertz, meanwhile, is on the verge of completing a £90m move to Chelsea, despite having been spotted with Rangers boss Steven Gerrard in Germany on August 6.
