The Blaugrana legend couldn’t hold his emotions in his final press conference.
Barcelona legend Lionel Messi broke down in tears during his final press conference at the club.
The Blaugrana made a shocking announcement on Thursday that Messi would no longer continue at the club due to financial difficulties in registering his new contract.
The news has since shaken the entire football fraternity, with many Blaugrana fans spotted outside the Camp Nou to vent their emotions.
Today, we were finally able to hear from Messi himself, with the Argentine breaking down in tears while discussing his exit from his boyhood club.
The 34-year-old couldn’t control his emotions even before he began to speak, with his Barca teammates present at the conference.
Messi said: “The truth is I don’t want to say it, these recent days, I’ve been thinking about what I could say, and the truth is that I can’t think of anything. “
“This is really difficult for me after so many years, being here my entire life. I’m not ready for this.
“This year, we thought we would stay in Barcelona. Today I have to say goodbye to all of this. I’ve been here my entire life – I’ve been here since I was 13.
“After 13 years, I am leaving with my wife, with my three Catalan kids. This is our home, and one day we will be back. I have promised my children that.”
Messi also regretted the fact of not having a farewell in a packed Camp Nou Stadium: “If I’d imagined leaving, I’d imagine it with the Camp Nou full of people and saying goodbye properly. But it was not to be.”
Messi spoke about the contract fiasco.
Then the Argentine revealed that he was ready to put pen to paper on his new deal before La Liga intervened in it.
“My new contract was done. All done. I wanted to stay, and when I came back from the holidays, it was done. … At the last minute with everything with La Liga, it couldn’t happen. “
He also added that he had agreed to take a pay cut of 50% while shutting down the rumours of Joan Laporta asking him to reduce his salary by 30% on Thursday.
The Argentine added: “The news about Barça and Laporta asking me for a 30% salary reduction on Thursday is absolutely fake. It’s a lie. I offered to reduce my contract by 50%, and then they didn’t ask me for anything else.”
Messi addresses PSG rumours
There have been widespread reports about Messi’s possible move to PSG in the last two days, with Les Parisiens planning to meet the Argentine’s representatives in the coming days.
Now, the player himself has had his say on the speculations, claiming that Paris Saint Germain is a possibility.
“Paris Saint-Germain is a possibility, yes. At the moment, nothing is confirmed. I received a lot of calls after the Barcelona statement. We’re talking about it.”
