Last August, Leo Messi rocked the football world with his request to leave Barça, the club of his life, to seek pastures new. On the back of yet another European humiliation, this time an unprecedented 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter final, it was perhaps expected. Rumours had been brewing since July 2020 that Messi did not intend to renew his contract, and it only made sense that the disaster in Lisbon accelerated that desire to leave in 2021 to a desire to jump ship immediately.