The Argentine superstar revealed that he tried everything to stay, but it was ultimately not possible, leaving him with no choice but to depart the club.
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Lionel Messi bid a tearful farewell to Barcelona in an emotional press conference at the Camp Nou on Sunday. The Argentine superstar revealed that he tried everything to stay, but it was ultimately not possible, leaving him with no choice but to depart the club. On Thursday, Barcelona dropped a bombshell, announcing that Messi will be leaving the club after 21 years at Camp Nou. The news sent shockwaves across the footballing world. After Barcelona president Joan Laporta explained the reason behind the decision recently, it was Messi’s turn on Sunday to address the media.
“I don’t know what to stay. These recent days I’ve been thinking about what I can say. The truth is that I can’t think of anything,” he started. “This is really difficult for me after so many years. I’ve been here all my life. I’m not ready for this and honestly last year with all the nonsense with the burofax and everything I was convinced I knew what to say but this year is not the same.”
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) August 8, 2021
Messi, who has been at the club since 13, informed that he and his family had been convinced he would be staying on at Barcelona. “This year my family and I were convinced we would stay here. This is what we all wanted more than anything. We’ve made this our home. We thought we’d be staying here. The times we’ve had here have been amazing but today I have to say goodbye to all of this,” he added.
“I’ve been here since I was 13. After 21 years I’m leaving with my wife, with my three little Catalan-Argentine kids. I’m just really grateful for everything to all my teammates, my former teammates, everyone at the club, who has been by my side, all the people, there are so many people. I thank everyone for the love I’ve had to live so many experiences, so many beautiful things that have happened.”
Before his shock departure was recently confirmed, it seemed almost certain that Messi would be renewing his contract with Barcelona and extending his stay at the club. “It’s how Laporta explained it. At the last minute, with everything with the league, it couldn’t happen. What’s clear is that I did everything possible,” he said. “They couldn’t do it because of La Liga. We did everything we could because I wanted to stay, last year I didn’t, but this year I did and I couldn’t.
“I offered to reduce my contract by 50% and they asked for nothing else. The news of me asking 30% more is a lie. A lot of what people are saying are not true. We did everything we could and it wasn’t possible.”
The 34-year-old then went on to address rumors that he’s about to join the French club Paris Saint-Germain. “PSG is a possibility, but sincerely as of today there is nothing agreed with anyone. When the statement came out, I had many calls, various clubs were interested,” he said. “But I have nothing closed yet. But we are talking.”
“Barca are biggest club in the world, a marvellous squad. Players come and go, it’s true, as Laporta said the club is bigger than any individual,” he said. “The fans will get used to it, as they always do. They have very good players, and things will work out in the end.”
