Argentine Lionel Messi asked to leave Barcelona immediately and not wait until the end of his contract next year, according to journalist Marcelo Pichler.

The journalist explained - in his Twitter account - that Messi made his decision after the historic 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the Champions League two days ago, a loss that is expected to cause great repercussions for the Catalan club.

Atenção para a notícia: Messi quer deixar o Barcelona. Não em 2021. Agora. pic.twitter.com/XTcJwYIa2s

- Marcelo Bechler (@marcelobechler) August 16, 2020

Bechler was known as the first journalist to talk about the transfer of Brazilian star Neymar from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2017.

Messi has not spoken officially since the loss to Bayern, which increased speculation about his future, especially since his contract will expire in 2021, which makes the Catalan club's management face the inevitability of agreeing to his departure to benefit from his transfer deal instead of losing him for free next summer.