El-Pais: Messi Has The Option To Leave Barca At The End Of Each Season

​Lionel Messi is permitted to decides when he leaves Barcelona because of a clause in his contract at the Camp Nou, meaning he could walk away before it expires in 2021.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner first joined Barcelona 19 years ago and has gone on to make 687 appearances across all competitions and is comfortably their all-time record goalscorer ahead of César Rodríguez.

Messi who signed a new four-year contract in 2017 which more than doubled his release clause to €700m, but El-Pais claims that there's another clause which gives the Argentine complete freedom over his future.

Messi has signed eight contract renewals at Barcelona since 2005, and this clause was added in his most recent renewal in 2017.

This is all according to El Pais, who say that there is an agreement between the player and club that means Messi can decide whether he wants to leave on June 30 at the end of each season.

The agreement is based on Messi's loyalty to Barcelona and if the Argentine decides to take up this agreement, then he is free to leave the Camp Nou.

According to Carrusel, Messi can only exercise this option if he is leaving Barcelona for a club outside Europe, leaving us to believe that this clause is designed for him to return to Argentina whenever he wants.