The club – Barcelona confirmed on Tuesday that Lionel Messi wants to leave the club after nearly two decades of partnership.
He has sent the documents expressing his desire to leave.
Barcelona has received this in writing via a fax from his lawyers. They have not officially replied yet but are understood to be preparing one.
The announcement comes 11 days after Barcelona’s humiliating 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals, one of the worst defeats in the player’s career and in the club’s history.
The defeat capped a difficult season for Barcelona — the first without a title since 2007-08 — and ignited one of its worst crises ever.