A clause in Lionel Messi's contract that would have allowed him to leave Barcelona for free this summer has reportedly expired.

Barca's board have previously admitted that the Argentina international could potentially have left the club for nothing at the end of the season if his exit clause was triggered.

However, Sky Sports News claims that any interested parties had until May 30 to take up that offer, though Barca have always maintained they did not fear him leaving anyway.

Messi has spent his entire senior career at Camp Nou and has another year to run on the four-year deal that he signed in 2017.

Speaking last week, the 32-year-old revealed that he came close to leaving Barcelona four years ago.