Lionel Messi wants to leave Barcelona - have you heard?There are faintly-whispered, cryptic messages creeping out of narrow cracks at Barcelona that suggest, ever so slightly that Messi might leave... yeh, no, the news couldn't be any clearer.In fact, the sporting world collectively stopped in his tracks and did a double-take on Tuesday night when it was revealed that Messi had informed Barcelona of his desire to leave the club.
Whirlwind surrounding Messi
Messi sent the damning fax to the club for whom he's played professionally since 2004 after growing tired of the way matters at Camp Nou are being handled under Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Married to the humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League and reportedly being unconvinced by Ronald Koeman's plans for a pretty bleak outlook for Messi right now.
However, with so many competing reports and a number of legal hurdles for Messi to clear, it's easy to feel as though you're caught in a whirlwind of Messi this, Messi that as the week progresses.
Guillem Balague wades in
Well, one of the most respected journalists in Spanish football, Guillem Balague, has sought to try and cut through the white noise by compiling a Twitter thread that sums up the situation.
Balague is usually pretty spot on when it comes to La Liga and has been saying for some time that Messi has wanted to leave Barcelona with last night's news simply vindicating him.
So, ok, what has Balague brought to the table in terms of Messi's next steps? Well, quite a lot, but it doesn't make for good reading if you're a Barcelona fan still keeping everything crossed.
Balague's viral Twitter thread
Such is the unprecedented prospect of Messi leaving Catalonia that you can forgive supporters for feeling in denial about the news, though Balague wants to draw out some cold, hard facts.
In his Twitter thread, which has garnered thousands of engagements, he outlines how Messi is so beyond the drama at Barcelona that his main focus is choosing which club is next for him.
You can check out the full thread down below:
Dun, dun, dun.
GIVEMESPORT's Kobe Tong says
I've got to admit, even I'm one of the people who, in spite of yesterday's news being pretty crystal clear, still thought there was a decent chance that Messi would perform a late U-turn.
I was perhaps thinking that Messi threatening to leave would encourage Bartomeu to fall on his sword or at least that Barca would listen to some of their star players' demands to stay.
However, much to the disappointment of Barca fans, it seems as though Messi is pretty hellbent on his decision and to be fair, you get the feeling he's gone too far to turn back now.
From the perspective of someone unabashedly sentimental, it is a great shame to see Messi leaving Barca, but seeing him play for another club is also an incredibly exciting prospect.
If nothing else, it will just be fascinating to see how much of Messi's brilliance is down to his association with Barca. Only time will tell, but the time has never been closer.