Lionel Messi has bid Neymar farewell and good luck as the Brazilian edges closer to completing a world record move to PSG.

Barcelona have confirmed that Neymar has asked for permission to leave the club with PSG expected to complete a £198m transfer early next week.

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Barca have since released a statement referring PSG to the 25-year-old's €222 million buyout clause and saying it must be paid in full.

"It was an enormous pleasure to have shared these years with you Neymar, friend," he wrote. "I wish you a lot of luck in the next stage of your life. See you."

He ended the message with "TKM," short for "te quiero mucho" or "love you a lot."

Neymar joined Barca in 2013, saying one of the reasons was the chance to play alongside and learn from Messi, who has been voted the world's best player five times.

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Along with Luis Suarez, who signed from Liverpool in 2014, they formed the formidable "MSN" attack, leading Barca to a Treble in 2015 and scoring 364 goals between them across three seasons.

However, Neymar's desire to step out of Messi's shadow and stake his own claim for being the world's best player is reported to be one of the motives behind his desire to move to Paris.

After leaving the club's training ground on Wednesday, he headed to the offices at Camp Nou with his father and his friends, where he held a meeting with high-ranking club directors.

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COPE journalist Helena Condis reported on Wednesday afternoon that Neymar was heading for London, with Wagner Ribeiro -- who is no longer officially Neymar's agent but still does work for his father's company, N&N Consulting -- telling her the buyout clause could be deposited as early as this afternoon.

Neymar won two La Liga honours and one Champions League title as a Barcelona player.

The 25-year-old has made no secret of the fact he wants to win the Ballon D'Or, having finished in fifth place behind team-mates Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi last year.