Lionel
Messi on Tuesday informed FC Barcelona of his decision to ‘unilaterally’ end
his contract with the Spanish giants, AFP confirmed. The
Argentine sent a document to the club confirming his decision to leave after
nearly two decades with the Catalans.

The
announcement comes on the back of Barcelona’s 8-2 thrashing at the hands of
Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter finals on August 14, in line with
Barcelona’s recent trend of humiliating exits from Europe’s biggest club
competition.

It ensured
that the Blaugrana will finish the campaign without a single trophy for the
first time since the 2007-08 season.

Messi, who
is the club’s all-time-top scorer, has won a multitude of individual awards
including six Ballon d’Or awards, helping the club win 10 La Liga titles and
four Champions League crowns among a number of other titles.