Lionel Messi could be just days away from ending his Barcelona career.

It seemed for a long time that Messi would spend his entire club career at Camp Nou, forming an incredible bond with the fans and becoming their greatest player of all time.

Nevertheless, the situation in Catalonia has stretched and strained to a point where Messi can tolerate it no longer and he shocked the world by submitting a transfer request this week.

Messi sends in transfer request

The drastic decision came mere weeks after Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League with a humiliating 8-2 defeat, raising serious questions about the club's direction.

And in spite of Quique Setien being replaced by Ronaldo Koeman as well as reports that Josep Martia Bartomeu could step down, it seems as though Messi is hellbent on leaving.

Manchester City have emerged as frontrunners for his signature with the Pep Guardiola factor proving key, but the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan and Juventus are also touted.

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Could Messi still stay?

One possibility that can't be ruled out, however, is Messi completing a U-turn and deciding to remain at Barcelona which, at the very least, could happen for another season considering his contract.

It's still the scenario most favoured by the bookmakers and such is the shocking nature of the recent news that plenty of football fans would be forgiven for being in denial.

And although Messi has never taken his intentions to leave Barcelona this far before, there is historical evidence of the player turning back on a desire to wave goodbye to Camp Nou.

So, as the world contemplates a world where Barca and Messi go their separate ways, it only makes sense to reflect on the two occasions - as highlighted by Marca - it almost happened even earlier.

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1. The Tata Martino season

The 2013/14 campaign was tough on Messi with continual injuries, poor team form, losing the Copa del Rey final to Real Madrid and coming up short to Atletico in both La Liga and the Champions League.

As a result, Messi visited former manager Tito Vilanova in hospital to float the idea of leaving, only for the unwell coach to talk him into staying.

Jordi Roura, Villanova's assistant, recounted in 2019: "It was a time when Tito was at a delicate point and it's true that at that time Leo wasn't clear on staying.

"They met and, although I wasn't there, I know they were talking for hours. From there, he changed his mind and saw some things more clearly. I don't know what they spoke about, but Messi decided to stay and we hope he does for many years."

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2. Tax investigation

In September 2015, judges were asked to investigate Messi for fiscal crimes, sending shockwaves through Spain and leaving the player to think that he was being targeted.

Messi himself told RAC1 last year: "At that time I thought about leaving, not because I wanted to leave Barcelona but because I thought about leaving Spain.

"I felt badly treated and I didn't want to be here any longer. I had the door open to many teams, even if there were no official offers because they all knew I wanted to stay at Barcelona.

"In that case, the situation went beyond what I felt for my home. It was a personal issue."

Nevertheless, the joys of playing alongside Luis Suarez and Neymar, winning the double that year and settling in Castelldefels encourage him to stay despite a suspended prison sentence.

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Third time and out?

It makes you realise that perhaps Messi's bond with Barcelona has never been as unbreakable as some considered it to be coming into this week's earth-shattering updates.

Perhaps if these weak moments in the club-player relationship hadn't been so well covered up, the sporting world might have been less surprised to hear of Messi's 2020 intentions.

But let's not pretend as though those three incidents compare to how far Messi has taken things now. 

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In fact, it almost feels like a self-aware move from Messi and his team to take proceedings past the point of no return and subsequently ensure that they stick to their guns with leaving Barcelona.

Three strikes and you're out, as they say.