Fans Chant 'Messi Stay' at Camp Nou as Argentine 'Wishes to Leave FC Barcelona' - Video

As the news of Lionel Messi expressing his desire to leave Barcelona broke, fans started to crowd outside the Camp Nou to show support for the player and beg him to stay.

Several videos going viral on social media show the Catalan fans gathering at Camp Nou and calling for the resignation of club president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

In the videos, several hundred fans can be heard chanting "We love you, Messi stay, Messi stay!" and "Bartomeu resign!"

Barcelona confirmed late Tuesday that Messi had notified them about his desire to leave the Catalan club via burofax, a service used in Spain to urgently dispatch a document that requires proof to third parties.

Messi is said to have grown increasingly unhappy over the last 12 months over how the club is being run under Bartomeu.

He has a contract with the Catalan club until 2021 with a clause to leave the club at the end of the 2019-20 season which expired on 31 July.

He, however, has reasoned that since the season was played beyond the normal schedule due to the pandemic, his clause should also be extended.

Messi, who has been at Barcelona since the age of 13, made his senior debut in 2004. He has made 485 appearances for Barcelona, scoring 444 goals in all competitions.

Exiting this year's Champions League with a humiliating defeat to Bayern Munich, Barcelona finished their season without any significant title for the first time since 2008.