Barcelona has heard the request from one of its key players to leave and has finally given in.
Ivan Rakitic is going back to Sevilla.
As for the the request from its marquee maestro, that doesn't figure to be sorted anytime soon. The Lionel Messi saga has officially reached its messy phase.
It has almost been a week since Messi rocked the foundations of Camp Nou by revealing his desire to leave and relaying the message to the club via burofax. It's important to note that Messi hasn't actually publicly said anything–and comments attributed to him in an Argentine report regarding a desire to leave and be reunited with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City were evidently fake–but all signs so far point to this being far more than a power play to oust what he clearly sees as inept leadership in the Barcelona board room.