Lionel Messi 'can leave Barcelona for free' at the end of each season due to clause in his contract

Lionel Messi can leave Barcelona for free at the end of any given season, according to a report in El Pais.

The Argentine attacker has spent his entire career at the Catalan club and his current deal expires in 2021.

He has renewed his contract eight times since 2005 and El Pais claim that in his last extension, in 2017, a clause was included which allows him to walk away at the end of any season.

The report, written by respected Barcelona-based journalist Ramon Besa, claims the five-time Ballon d’Or is free to leave on June 30th, at the end of each campaign.

Barca legends Carles Puyol, Xavi and Andres Iniesta all had similar agreements in their final years at Barca, with the two midfielders opting to move to Qatar and Japan, respectively.

Messi may have included the clause with a possible return to Argentina in mind, having said on occasions that he would like to finish his career at boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys.

In recent interviews, however, the 32-year-old has expressed concerns over the situation in his homeland and also the prospect of uprooting his family.

Radio show Carrusel, on Cadena SER, claim the clause would only allow Messi to leave for a club outside Europe.

With the forward’s contract up in 2021, that only leaves one more summer for him to rescind his deal anyway and Barca are expected to offer their captain an extension in the coming months.