Barcelona – Lionel Messi cried before he said the first word. His wife Antonella, who was sitting in the front row of the FC Barcelona auditorium with their three sons, immediately handed her superstar a handkerchief, the emotions just had to get out. “In the past few days I have thought a lot about what I can actually say. The truth is: I just can’t think of anything, ”said Messi, his voice heavy and low. “This is the club I love and this is not the moment I was expecting.” Millions of fans around the world followed these words on the Internet.
Will Messi take the medical check-up in Paris on Sunday?
When Messi had finished his speech, his former teammates, who had come to see the club’s greatest farewell, stood up and applauded. There was also sadness on their faces about the ultimately completely surprising end of the unique relationship between FC Barcelona and Messi. His blood had frozen, said Messi about the failure of the new contract with his heart club, to which he came in 2000 as a 13-year-old.
Messi did not want to give a very specific answer to where it will go now. Many clubs would have reported after the departure became known, he said. However, when asked about a commitment at Paris Saint-Germain, Messi said: “Well, that’s a possibility. But to this day, at this point in time, at this hour, I have not agreed anything with anyone. “
They would of course talk to each other, said the six-time world footballer. According to L’Équipe, Messi should possibly do the medical check at PSG on Sunday, but no later than this Monday.
Messi: “The most difficult chapter in my history”
“A new story will begin and it will be the most difficult chapter of my career,” said Messi, who was heavily touched and touched – and repeatedly emphasized his emotional connection to the club that was involved in the hormone treatment for the 13-year-old “Flea” at the time Stunted growth had taken over from Rosaria in Argentina.
“It is so hard for me. I’ve been here my whole life, I’m not ready for it, ”said Messi. His family, with whom he had vacationed in Florida and Ibiza before leaving Barcelona and after his triumphant first title with the Argentine national team, was completely convinced to stay in Barcelona. He offered to forego half of his salary. That didn’t help either.
“Last year with all the madness I knew exactly what I wanted to say, this year it’s something different,” said Messi, who had wanted to leave the club in summer 2020. At that time the situation was completely different, Messi had not met the club’s management at the time.
But now it is difficult not to hear the fans “screaming my name”, stressed Messi, whose arrival at the press conference was accompanied by hundreds of supporters. Policemen had to keep an alley leading to the main gate clear. If he could have imagined saying goodbye, it would have been in a full stadium, said Messi, which was not possible in Corona times.
The press conference ended after just under 40 minutes. Messi smiled briefly at his family, his wife and his three “Catalan-Argentine boys”. Then he took his former teammates in his arms before he had to say goodbye to what he had achieved during his time at FC Barcelona: the trophies for 35 titles in a row.
Should he really switch to PSG, the next successes should not be long in coming. “I want to win the Champions League again,” he said: “I want to win as many titles as possible.”
It would be a realistic plan – a world-class team is playing together in Paris anyway. Neymar, the courted Kylian Mbappé, Italy’s European champion goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, colleague Marco Verratti, ex-Real icon Sergio Ramos. In addition, an excellent Argentine parliamentary group with Angel di Maria, Leandro Paredes, Mauro Icardi – and trainer Mauricio Pochettino.
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