Why does Lionel Messi want to leave Barcelona?

Lionel Messi, one of the greatest footballers to ever set foot on a football pitch and an inspiration for many, has decided to leave Spanish giants Barcelona after an almost 20-year stint with them. This decision has come as a shock to many of the club’s fans and has shook the entire football world as a whole. This decision comes after a crushing defeat against Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. This led to Barcelona facing a trophyless season for the first time in 12 years and also to the sacking of Quique Setien (Replaced by Ronald Koeman). The decision of Messi’s departure from Barcelona was first announced by Barcelona’s press club on 26^th August 2020 and has stirred many different theories on the reasons for his leaving the club. The leading belief is that Messi and the club’s president Josep Maria Bartomeu have had a major falling out and one cannot also rule out the psychological effects on the Barcelona camp by the devastating loss in Lisbon. Josep Maria Bartomeu’s board is currently staging emergency meetings at Camp Nou to discuss Messi’s future and as Bartomeu’s re-elections are next year, a quick decision must be reached so that Messi’s future at Barcelona can stay a reality.

Immediately after the news surfaced, everyone pointed towards the possible new club that Messi might join. Top contenders as of yet in the Messi race are Manchester City and PSG. There were also hints from Inter-Milan just the previous month but it did not long for them to die out. If Messi does leave by the May deadline, his release clause will be a whopping £630 million, making him the world’s most expensive footballer. If the deal is signed it will garner whichever club managing to acquire Messi drastically improving its fanbase and a much more formidable future. Ronald Koeman recently met with Messi and as Josep Bartomeu calls it, he is a major part of the restructuring of the club. Messi concluded his debate by stating that he feels ore out of the club than in at the moment. One of Barcelona’s former captains Carles Puyol has tweeted his support to the Argentinean star in the form of “Respect and admiration, Leo. All my support friend.” apparently urging Messi to be the master of his own destiny.

Messi as a player has forever changed football. His record-breaking 6 Ballon d’Ors have landed him a place forever in the football Hall of Fame. His 26 titles with Barcelona ever since coming out of La Masia Academy at the age of 13 years. These titles include 10 La Liga titles and 4 Champions’ League victories. It is unlikely that any other player will be able to replace Messi as the face of Barcelona, but if he does leave then it will be the end of a glorious era that many avid football fans would consider as the complete turnover of the footballing world as we know it.