On Thursday evening Barcelona FC announced that their stalwart striker Lionel Messi wont be staying at the Club. Messi became a free agent after his contract expired on June 30.

The Argentinian striker later reached a verbal agreement on a five year contract extension at Barcelona, with his salary being cut by 50%under the new terms of the deal, meaning he will be earning R4.4 million per week.

The 34 year old Leo Messi and the Club’s management met earlier today and the intention was to finalize the new deal but due to financial and structural obstacles (Spanish Liga Regulations) Leo Messi wont be staying at his beloved club. The six time Ballon d’Or winner has been linked with European Heavyweights Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain.

Since he made his first team debut for Barca against Espanyol in 2004, the Argentinian striker donned the famous Jersey number 10 shirt for Barcelona which has a rich and vibrant history as it was donned by the great likes of Laszlo Kubala and Diego Maradona.

Leo honored the Captaincy armband and the number of his jersey, he leaves the Catalan Giants having made 768 appearances and scoring 663 goals in those appearances. Leo has spent his entire career with Barcelona where he has won a club record of 34 trophies including 10 LA Liga titles, 7 Copa Del Rey titles and 4 UEFA Champions League.

It is currently uncertain of where the 34 year old will be heading ahead of the new season.