He did not seriously force it, we were used.
That is a quite an oversimplification, and not particularly right.
We weren't 'used', as he got nothing out of that episode, no new contract.
He did put in a transfer request, he also formally tried to terminate his contract, as per his clause, only for Barcelona and La liga to reject it on a covid delay technicality. He challenged it with La liga, who advised it would end up in court. He didn't pursue it further, the consequences being big both for him and for us, including a potential ban for him and a 700m fee for us, after what could be a couple years of legal battles. After the whole cas debacle, that was the last thing the club would have wanted or needed, even if he had been prepared to go through it hinself.
Didn't happen, too late now. But no room for writing our own narratives.