Lionel Messi has demanded to leave FC Barcelona after the club's humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich

• Lionel Messi has demanded to leave FC Barcelona after the club's humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals on Friday.
• That's according to Esporte Inerativo, which reports Messi has told Barcelona's board he intends to leave the club with immediate effect.
• Paris Saint Germain or Manchester City are favorites to land Messi should he leave Catalonia, with the Argentine's release clause standing at over $700 million, according to The Guardian.

Lionel Messi has demanded to leave FC Barcelona after the club's humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals.

That's according to Esporte Inerativo, a Brazilian news outlet, which has history when it comes to reporting major transfer news involving Barcelona.

It was first, for example, to report Neymar's move from Spain to Paris Saint Germain in 2017.

According to the outlet, Messi has told Barcelona's board he intends to leave the club with immediate effect and will not see out the remainder of his contract at the Camp Nou, which expires in 2021.

Barcelona's defeat to Bayern on Friday was the club's heaviest in nearly 75 years.

Goals from Ivan Perisic, Serge Gnabry, Joshua Kimmich, Robert Lewandowski; and braces from Thomas Muller and Philippe Coutinho – the latter of whom is on-loan at Bayern from Barca – dumped the Spanish giants out in the last eight of the Champions League for the fourth time in the last five years.

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said after the defeat that the club had reached "rock bottom."

"It was a horrible game, the feeling is terrible. Embarrassing is the word," he told the club's website. "I think now we have hit rock bottom."

"We can't compete like that, you can't play like that in Europe. It is not the first time, the second time or the third time, it's very tough."

Pique, 33, added: "Now everyone has to have a good look at themselves, the club needs change."

According to The Guardian, either PSG or Manchester City are most likely to land Messi should he leave Catalonia, with the pair being the only two clubs that could afford to trigger the Argentine's $700 million plus release clause.

Read more:

Juventus has put its best player up for sale to accommodate an aging Cristiano Ronaldo. That's a pretty stupid idea.

FC Barcelona has been offered the chance to sign Cristiano Ronaldo, meaning he could finally join forces with Lionel Messi and create the world's deadliest attacking duo

Borussia Dortmund trolled Manchester United on Twitter after it confirmed star man Jadon Sancho won't be moving to England this summer

One of the best strikers in world soccer says Mike Tyson has inspired him to pursue a career in combat sports after he retires