Barcelona Board of Directors Hold 'Urgent' Meeting After Lionel Messi Asks to Leave

Barcelona's board of directors have called an 'urgent' meeting after Lionel Messi informed the club of his desire to leave this summer.

The Argentine cut a frustrated figure at points during the 2019/20 season as Barça produced a series of underwhelming displays. La Blaugrana's disappointing season came to a crashing halt as they were dumped out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals by Bayern Munich after being humiliated 8-2. The shocking defeat meant Barça finished the campaign without any silverware.

As a result, Barcelona acted by replacing Quique Setien with Ronald Koeman, while Eric Abidal was also relieved of his duties. These changes were considered positive by many and Koeman looked to immediately hold talks with Messi to outline his plans. However, Messi is said to have once again been left furious after information from the meeting was leaked to the public.

This has seemingly proven to be the final straw, with Messi informing the club's board directors of his desire to leave the club this summer via fax. Barcelona-based reporter Alfredo Martinez has now reported on his Twitter that the board called an 'urgent' meeting after being made aware of Messi's decision. It is being described as a 'very complicated environment'.

The Associated Press further report that the club have indeed confirmed that Messi has communicated his desire to leave - which Fabrizio Romano has also backed up. The 33-year-old's lawyers are said to be asking the club to allow him to activate a clause in his contract which will allow him to unilaterally terminate the deal and walk away for free.

However, Romano notes that Barça are expected to stand firm with regards to a transfer fee for Messi - who has a €700m release clause in his contract. The deadline for this 'free clause' was 10 June and, as a result, they will claim it holds no significance anymore. The board will come to a decision on how best to proceed in the coming days.

Messi's relationship with club president Josep Maria Bartomeu has turned sour. With Bartomeu deciding against leaving his role, Messi is said to have been left with no other choice but to seek a move away.