Early on Tuesday afternoon, Barcelona received the burofax it had been dreading. It came from Lionel Messi and it confirmed he wanted to exercise the clause in his contract that allows him to leave the club on a free transfer. It was a piece of news that has simultaneously been half-expected and yet came as a major shock. Messi has, after all, been at the club for 19 years.
Barcelona acted promptly to claim Messi’s right to exercise that clause expired June 10, after the scheduled end of the season. He has one year remaining on his contract and a release clause of €700 million ($830 million).