Lionel Messi has been left 'shocked' and 'dejected' by Barcelona's inability to renew his contract.
Messi - who became a free agent last month after his original contract with Barca expired - believed a long-term deal, albeit on lower pay terms, had been agreed and that he would meet up with his teammates to resume training on Friday.
However, the Catalan giants shared a bombshell statement on Thursday evening saying the 34-year-old would not be staying at the club due to financial restrictions placed upon them by LaLiga.
Messi has been left 'emotionally destroyed' by bombshell news that he will be leaving Barca
Messi was set to re-sign a new contract with Barcelona following positive initial talks between all parties involved.
The forward was prepared to take a 50 per cent pay deduction from his previous deal - which was worth more than £425million over four years - to adhere to LaLiga's financial fair play rules.
This would have seen Messi's earnings slashed by £250,000-a-week on the proposed new five-year contract. However, the 34-year-old was said to be happy to take the hit if it meant he was able to re-register as a Barcelona player with LaLiga.
Messi joined Barca's famous La Masia academy from Argentine side Newell's Old Boys in 2000
He went on to make his senior debut in 2004 at just 16 years old and featured 778 times
Following Messi's decision, his father, Jorge, travelled to Barcelona to meet with the club's officials to close the deal and sign the new contract.
Therefore, Messi and his father were left to believe that the economic side of the deal was complete and that they were just waiting on the board to decide how they wanted to announce the news.
As a result, Jorge was left shocked when Barcelona President Joan Laporta said that the club was not in a position to register the Argentine due to the salary limit imposed by LaLiga.
According to Diario SPORT, such a decision has 'emotionally destroyed' Messi as he did 'not expect it at all'.
Barcelona issued the shocking statement on Thursday evening, saying: 'Despite having reached an agreement between FC Barcelona and Leo Messi and with the clear intention of both parties to sign a new contract today, it cannot be formalized due to economic and structural obstacles (Spanish LaLiga regulations).
During that time Messi became Barcelona's record scorer with 672 goals including 120 Champions League goals and a record 474 LaLiga goals
Messi's individual contribution also saw him claim the European Golden Shoe award for the continent's top scorer on six occasions (above)
'Given this situation, Lionel Messi will not continue linked to FC Barcelona. Both parties deeply regret that the wishes of both the player and the Club cannot finally be fulfilled.
'Barca would like to thank with all its heart the player's contribution to the enhancement of the institution and wishes him the best in his personal and professional life.'
Following their announcement, Barcelona also released an emotional seven-minute video featuring the best clips of Messi during his time with the Catalan giants.
The video, titled 'The ultimate best of Messi', features a montage piecing together the best goals and moments from the Argentine's 21 years at the Nou Camp.
However, Barcelona shared a bombshell statement on Thursday evening saying the 34-year-old would not be staying at the club due to financial restrictions placed upon them by LaLiga
Messi has been left 'shocked' and 'dejected' by Barcelona's inability to renew his contract
The clip, shared on Barcelona's Twitter page, was captioned 'thank you Leo' as they paid tribute to his phenomenal career and contribution
