Footballing legend and icon Lionel Messi is due to depart Barcelona due to league regulations on player registration when he was trying to sign a new contract with the club.
He was seen bawling his eyes out and in tears before and after his speech, as his teammates gave him a rousing standing ovation.
Messi said that after being at Barcelona his whole life, this is really difficult for him and that he is not ready for this.
He said: “My family and I were convinced we were going to stay, that’s what we wanted more than anything. We were at home. Now I have to say goodbye to all of this. I have been here so many years, my entire life, since I was 13. After 21 years, I am leaving with my wife, with my three little Catalan-Argentine kids. I can’t say that we won’t come back because this is our home and I promised my children that.”
He later addressed the fans as well, saying: “It’s been difficult not to have the fans here, to hear them shouting my name. I leave without seeing them for a year and a half. I would have imagined Camp Nou full, close to the fans… saying goodbye properly. But it has to be this way. I want to say again, I am so grateful for all the love I have received here.”
At the time of writing, Messi is strongly linked with a move to French giants Paris St Germain, although he didn’t confirm anything at the moment.
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Image and video source: FC Barcelona YouTube