An 8-2 quarterfinal loss in the Champions League couldn’t have felt good for anyone, but some FC Barcelona players are taking it worse than others.

Lionel Messi, for one, wants out of the club. According to journalist Marco Bechler, the Argentine superstar doesn’t even want to wait until his contract with Barca expires next summer -- he wants to leave right now.

Messi’s frustration is understandable: aside from the humiliating loss to Bayern Munich, Barcelona has gone trophy-less this season -- something that hasn’t happened to the club in more than a decade. The team stumbled early in Copa del Rey, before succumbing to Real Madrid in La Liga and once again suffering heartbreak in UCL.

Disillusionment

For Messi, it’s not just the back-to-back losses that’s pushing him towards the exits. According to Daily Mail, more than anything, it’s the “lack of planning” that is causing him to lose faith in the club.

It can be recalled that the 33-year-old heavily criticized his side after his La Liga title dreamed were nixed by their archrivals Real Madrid. Messi also expressed disgruntlement over the direction Josep Bartomeu is taking the Spanish club.

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What’s Next?

Obviously, loaded clubs like Man City, PSG, and Juventus are on high alert following news that Messi is ready to jump ship.

As pointed out by Mirror, Messi heading out to Manchester might be the top choice right now, not just for the superstar, but for Pep Guardiola, too, who seems like he could use some help up his City side.

However, Inter Milan might also be making a move, seeing as Messi’s old teammate Javier Zanetti sits on the board as vice-president. 

On the other hand, the emotional option would be if Messi would return to his Rosario-based boyhood club, the one he imagined himself playing for when he was just a kid -- Newell’s Old Boys. The only question is if they can rack up enough to have a lucrative offer on the table to lure Messi back.

At the end of the day, though, it doesn’t seem like all is lost for Messi in Barcelona. Talks are still ongoing, and if Barca could pull up a fresh manager that could make him reconsider, Messi would surely stay where his heart (surely) still is.