Barcelona consider Mauricio Pochettino and Ronald Koeman as they prepare to sack Quique…

Barcelona will sack coach Quique Setien on Monday and president Josep Bartomeu is under pressure to follow his manager out of the club after Lionel Messi threatened to leave.

Esporte Interativo reported on Sunday night that Messi had told the Barcelona board he wants to leave the club THIS summer.

Barcelona denied the report but there was no word from Messi’s camp and the feeling is that the 33-year-old is trying to force Bartomeu to stand down on Monday and allow elections to take place immediately.

Lionel Messi has reportedly told the Barcelona board that he wants to leave this summer

Messi has one year left on his current contract and has a €700million release clause.

If Bartomeu remains in charge his first job is to replace Setien. Former Tottenham coach Mauricio Pochettino is the preferred choice of the Barca president but the 48-year-old Argentinian does not have the unanimous support of the board.

Former Everton and Southampton coach Ronald Koeman, who won the European Cup with Barcelona as a player, has emerged as the preferred alternative.

Former Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is the first choice of Josep Bartomeu

Ronald Koeman, who had success at Barcelona as a player, is also being considered

Persuading either man to take the job when there could be a change of president before the end of the season is also likely to be problematic.

Even if Bartomeu remains in charge until the end of his mandate in 2021 any new president next summer would almost certainly bring in his own coach.

Koeman has a clause in his contract with the Dutch FA that allows him to join Barcelona but only after Euro 2020, which is now scheduled to take place next year.