Lionel Messi has told Barcelona he wants to leave the club following their humiliating Champions League exit at the hands of Bayern Munich, according to reports in the media.

Barca-based Brazilian journalist Marcelo Bechler broke the news for Esporte Interativo that Messi was demanding an immediate exit after losing faith in the club’s plans in the wake of their 2-8 quarter-final thrashing by Bayern in Lisbon on Friday.

The 33-year-old has one year left on what is widely expected to be the final contract of his legendary Barcelona career, a deal said to have a £635million buy-out clause.

It has been reported that the deal, signed in 2017, also included a clause that allowed him to leave for free at the end of every season, but that expired at the end of May. For the six-time Ballon d’Or winner to quit this summer would thus require the consent of Barca, who, according to reports in Spain, consider him one of only a handful of players unavailable for transfer.

The Brazilian report — which comes from the same source that broke the news of Neymar’s move to Paris St-Germain in 2017 — adds that Messi has become more isolated at Barca than ever after the latest on a list of embarrassing Champions League exits that extended his wait for a fifth triumph.

The claims follow reports that Manchester City believe they would be in pole position to sign the Argentina star if he left Camp Nou, something that would reunite him with Pep Guardiola.

However, City would face competition from across the globe, including from Inter Milan, whose former director Massimiliano Mirabelli has claimed Messi’s signing “is more than a dream” for the club.

Messi cut a disconsolate figure last month after Barca surrendered their Spanish title to arch-rivals Real Madrid, with the Catalan club’s captain criticising his team-mates and warning they would have to perform much better in what remained of the Champions League following the coronavirus crisis.

Messi inspired them to a last-16 second-leg victory over Napoli just over a week ago, but was unable to prevent their capitulation to Bayern — which followed exits at the hands of Liverpool and Roma in the previous two seasons.

Messi is said to have spent the past year battling Barca president Josep Bartomeu over the direction of the
club. He was reportedly unhappy with the decision to sign Antoine Griezmann instead of Neymar.

Koeman in race

Ronald Koeman is set to be appointed the new manager this week to take over from Quique Setien, according to reports. One Barcelona-based newspaper even claimed that Koeman has been spotted at the city’s El Prat airport.

The former Barcelona player, and assistant manager, will leave his role as Netherlands coach to take over at Camp Nou in time for the new season.

According to Dutch outlet Voetbal Primeur, Koeman has bought a new house recently in Spain, which will undoubtedly add fuel to the fire.