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Earlier this week, the greatest footballer in the history of the game served notice to one of the world's biggest clubs that he wishes to terminate his contract.

Yes, Leonel Messi really is in the process of forcing his way out of Barcelona.

I'm Ed Malian, managing director of the Athletic, and I'll be hosting the Messi cast, providing you with constant updates on the biggest transfer story in history. For our second episode, I'm joined by Dermott Corrigan, the Athletic Spanish correspondent, based in Madrid, who has been at the heart of this story since it broke on Tuesday. Dermott, today I want to focus on the man who I guess is the villain in this whole piece, Josep Maria Bartomeo, and his role in the politics of FC Barcelona. So, Dermit, give us some background on the man and how he became president. It's an amazing story really because I don't think Bartomeo ever expected to be Barcelona president and few would ever have predicted him rising to that position either. He was a Barcelona associate, he was been a varsive fan since he was a boy, he was born in the Catalan capital,

but basketball was always his sport. He played a little bit in Barst's youth system of basketball,

not for very long, and then came through the ranks at Español across the city and played for

them, but not in a professional way.

So basketball was his sport.

And meanwhile, he went to university, was a very successful businessman in the family business, engineering business.

But even still, he was never seen as somebody who would, you know, be a mover in shake or somebody who would move up into sports politics.

He ended up joining the Barcelona board in 2003 because he was a close friend of Sando Rosset,

who he met as a student.

They studied together in business school in Barcelona.

And Rosset brought him in as the basketball expert for the board.

So he was the director in charge of

...