As the speculations about Lionel Messi’s future in Barcelona heat up with each passing day, more rumours have come out of the Catalan club. It is believed that Barca are planning to take the most extreme step to convince Messi to stay.

According to a report by Associated Press, the La Liga giants have communicated to Messi that club president Josep Bartomeu is prepared to resign if that is what it will take for the Argentine to remain.

If Spanish media outlets are to be believed, Bartomeu has expressed his willingness to resign on the condition that Messi will publicly accept that the president was the reason for him to leave. However, the 33-year-old playmaker is yet to react.

Barcelona confirmed earlier this week that Messi notified them about his desire to leave the Catalan club via burofax, a service used in Spain to urgently dispatch a document that requires proof to third parties.

Rumours have been afloat about the Argentine’s growing disparity with Barcelona management – especially with club president Josep Bartomeu – for a long time. Reportedly, it has reached a boiling point after Barcelona’s embarrassing 2-8 beating against Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.

Messi has a contract with the Catalan club until 2021 with a clause to leave the club at the end of the 2019-20 season which expired on July 31. The 33-year-old, however, has reasoned that since the season was played beyond the normal schedule due to the pandemic, his clause should also be extended.

The 33-year-old six-time Ballon D’Or winner, who has been at Barcelona since the age of 13, made his senior debut in 2004. Messi has played 485 appearances for Barcelona and scored 444 goals for them in all competitions.

Meanwhile, soon after the news of Messi expressing his wish to leave Barcelona har broken out, the fans started to crowd outside the Camp Nou to show support for their star player and urge him to stay.

The fans gathered outside Barcelona’s home ground and raised slogans asking Messi to stay and Bartomeu to resign. They chanted “Bartomeu resign” and “Messi stay”, reported Goal.com.