So, all the reports were true then - Lionel Messi really does want to leave Barcelona.

It wasn’t really surprising to hear rumours that Messi was unhappy at the Camp Nou after they had just been humiliated by Bayern Munich 8-2 in the Champions League.

Who would be happy with that?

But the rumours didn’t go away even after Quique Setien was sacked by the club.

In came Ronald Koeman, who in almost his first act as the new Barcelona manager, had crunch talks with Messi about his future.

And it seems those didn’t go particularly well.

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The rumours of Messi’s unhappiness have grown stronger before they reached a crescendo on Tuesday evening.

Any journalist with an ounce of reliability revealed that Messi had informed Barcelona that he wanted to leave the club and terminate his contract with immediate effect.

It’s believed Messi will use trigger a clause in his contract that will allow him to leave on a free transfer. However, that clause has actually expired but Messi’s team believe it can still be triggered due to the extension of the 2019/20 campaign.

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Barcelona then confirmed the unthinkable.

Association Press reported: “Barcelona confirmed to The Associated Press that Messi sent the club a document expressing his desire to leave. But the club hinted that a legal battle could be coming and said it won’t automatically grant the Argentina great his wishes.”

So, how did we reach this point?

Well, according to a report in Diario Olé, his chat with Koeman was a disaster.

The Dutchman apparently told Messi that his “privileges are over” and that he has to “do everything for the team.”

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“Your privileges in the squad are over, you have to do everything for the team,” Koeman apparently said. I'm going to be inflexible, you have to think about the team.”

That, seemingly, was the last straw for the Argentine who has now demanded that his contract is terminated.

Incredible stuff.

There is now set to be a legal battle between Messi and Barcelona. This is just the beginning of what is set to be a quite incredible saga.