An emotional Lionel Messi bid farewell to his boyhood club Barcelona after announcing his departure after 21 years at the club. He revealed that it was not his wish to leave Barcelona and that his future is still up in the air. Barcelona confirmed his departure on social media a day after he arrived from his post-Copa America holiday. Messi revealed that he agreed to reduce his wages by 50 percent.
“This year, my family and I were convinced we were going to stay at home, that’s what we all wanted more than anything,” Lionel Messi said after announcing his departure from Barcelona. “We’d always made this our own, we were at home. We thought we would be staying here in Barcelona. But today, we have to say goodbye to all of this.”
Barcelona president Joan Laporta blamed the circumstances on the previous regime as well as the La Liga spending rules.
“I did everything possible and the club, Laporta, they couldn’t do it because of La Liga,” said Messi. “I’ve heard things said about me, that I didn’t want to continue, but in my life, we did everything we could because I wanted to stay. Last year, I didn’t want to stay and I said it; this year, I wanted to stay and we couldn’t. I’m not ready for this. And honesty, with all the nonsense with the burofax, I was convinced of what I wanted to say. We thought we would be staying in Barcelona. The time we have had here has been amazing.”
Also, Read Joe Hart: New Celtic Goalkeeper In Contention To Make Debut
