Lionel Messi has reportedly told Barcelona he wants to leave the club immediately in the wake of their Champions League failure.
Messi cut a desolate figure as his side were thrashed 8-2 by Bayern Munich in their Champions League quarter-final on Friday night.
It has led to Messi considering his future - and Esporte Interativo now claim that he wants an immediate exit having grown frustrated at the lack of planning at the club.
He is said to feel 'isolated' after repeated failings in the Champions League and their frustration in La Liga as Real Madrid pipped them to the La Liga title.
The news comes after the Sunday Mirror exclusively revealed that Manchester City are in pole position to land Messi if he leaves the Nou Camp.
The Blues would pay Messi whatever it takes to lure him to the Etihad and reunite him with Pep Guardiola.
And City’s stance on the 32-year-old remains steadfast that they will be at the front of the queue if the six-time Ballon d’Or winner decides to seek a new challenge.
Messi has spent a year battling Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu and the Nou Camp hierarchy on the direction the club is going
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He has a clause in his contract that allows him to leave for free at the end of every season but that expired at the end of May.
City have been waiting for an indication that Messi will consider leaving and could now have their chance to pounce.
His current £635million buy-out clause puts him out of the reach of every club, but Barcelona don’t have the money to finance the squad rebuild they so clearly need – and may be forced to sacrifice their most precious asset to make it happen.
