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Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu offers his resignation to prevent Lionel Messi leaving club

Fans of Barcelona hang a banner on a fence during a protest outside the Camp Nou after captain Lionel Messi told Barcelona he wishes to leave the club immediately - REUTERS
Fans of Barcelona hang a banner on a fence during a protest outside the Camp Nou after captain Lionel Messi told Barcelona he wishes to leave the club immediately - REUTERS

Lionel Messi has been given a clear pathway to stay at Barcelona after Josep Maria Bartomeu, the club’s president, offered his resignation in return for their greatest player to remain at the Nou Camp.

Messi, 33, has informed Barcelona he wants to leave after almost two decades at the club, alerting Manchester City, Inter Milan and Paris St-Germain that he is available to clubs who can afford a deal worth more than £500 million.

Bartomeu has made it clear he would stand down if Messi states publicly that he would stay at the club following the resignation. Messi’s situation has been viewed as a power struggle between player and Bartomeu’s board, and the president’s offer may change Messi’s mind over staying to be part of new manager Ronald Koeman’s rebuilding. Bartomeu’s exit, however, would see the board remain until the next presidential elections, which are scheduled for March.

Staying at Barcelona would solve a potentially ugly legal battle over whether Messi has successfully triggered a clause allowing him to leave on a free transfer. The club say he has a £631.3 million buy-out active, with the dispute concerning whether the post-season clause has moved following a delayed campaign due to the pandemic.

Without a free transfer, Messi would still command a world-record transfer fee and wages of about £100 million a year before tax, which only the likes of City, PSG and Inter could afford. Some of Messi’s former Barcelona team-mates also earnt lucrative contracts in Qatar and Japan.

Supporters gathered outside Barcelona’s stadium when news broke that Messi had asked to leave this summer, informing the club that he intends to find a new club. Messi played under City manager Pep Guardiola while at Barcelona and has maintained a good relationship with the Spaniard.

City have stuck to a clear transfer policy when it comes to refusing to overpay in the market, although Messi has remained at Barcelona each time it looked as though there was a possibility of him leaving.