FC Barcelona's astronomical asking price for wantaway captain Lionel Messi has reportedly been revealed.
Earlier this week, Messi made headlines when he handed Barcelona a transfer request and asked the club to honour a clause in his contract that allows him to leave on a free transfer at the end of every season.
Barcelona have since maintained their position that the option to leave expired at the end of May and reports from Caught Offside claim that the only way the 33-year-old will join another club is if his buyout clause was activated during the transfer window.
Scroll through the gallery above to see the Barcelona players with the highest release clauses, according to Squawka
Should the Catalan giants stick to their asking price, it would appear unlikely that the record six-time Ballon d'Or winner will be going anywhere this season as, according to DAZN, his current release clause is valued at an astronomical €700 million (R14 billion).
For context, Paris Saint-Germain broke the world transfer record in 2017 when they signed Neymar from the Blaugrana for €222 million (R4.4 billion), meaning potential suitors could theoretically sign the Brazilian three times over and still have change for the same price as Messi.
READ: Messi 'in talks' over sensational EPL switch
The Argentina forward's release clause is not the only potential stumbling block, though, as the buying club would also have to match his yearly salary, which currently ranks him as one of the highest-earning footballers, and indeed athletes, in the world.
Messi is contracted to Barca until the end of the 2020/21 campaign but has been strongly linked with a move to Premier League giants Manchester City, where former boss Pep Guardiola is reportedly plotting a reunion with his former star.
Earlier reports suggested that the pair had already spoken about a potential move prior to Messi's decision to hand in a transfer request, and that contractual negotiations between the player and City were already underway.