Barcelona President says he'd step down to get Lionel Messi to stay with team

Lionel Messi delivered a gut punch to Barcelona fans earlier this week when he told the club that he wanted to leave. Much of the blame has been pointed at Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu, who is reportedly willing to step down from his position if it will get the superstar striker to reverse his position and stay with the team. Despite Bartomeau's desperate attempt, Messi is reportedly still set on leaving Barcelona.

The Argentinian striker sent a burofax to Barcelona letting them know about his intention to leave the team. He cited a clause in his contract that would allow him to leave for free. However, the club is disputing the claim, saying that the clause states that he must express his desire to leave in a certain time frame, which would have been back in June.

Messi has played for Barcelona his entire professional career, and many fans assumed he would finish out his career with the club. However, he has openly expressed some of his frustration with the team this year, causing rumors to start swirling about the 33-year-old heading elsewhere to finish out his days on the pitch. It certainly didn't help that Barcelona lost to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals earlier this summer.

So far, Barcelona has resisted taking Messi's demand as a reality, as the club reportedly says that Messi's rights are not for sale. He is currently under contract until 2021, so the team would risk losing him for nothing if they did not sell his rights.

If Messi does become available, Manchester City seems to be the leading candidate to land him, as there has reportedly been mutual interest.