Lionel Messi bid goodbye to FC Barcelona, and the club confirmed the news a few days ago. The player and the club couldn’t reach an agreement, and the news came as a shocker as Messi was expected to sign a fresh five-year deal with Barca ahead of the upcoming La Liga season.
During his news conference attended by his teammates, Messi revealed the reason why he couldn’t stay.
“As the president said, the club has got a big debt, they can’t do it, it’s not possible [to stay].
“To keep drawing it out would make it more complicated. I need to focus on my career and what I need to do from now on.
“I did everything I could to stay and it was not possible to stay.”
“What’s clear is I did everything possible, and they (Barca) couldn’t do it because of La Liga. A lot of things have been said about me, but on my behalf, we did everything I could because I wanted to stay. Last year I didn’t want to stay and I said it. This year I did and I couldn’t.”
He spoke about how he felt, moments after he parted ways with the club. However, he said that he doesn’t regret anything.
“It was like my blood ran cold, I was really sad, it was really difficult right up to now. I’m still trying to process it all. When I get home I will still feel bad, it will be even worse.”
“I don’t regret anything, I’ve tried to give my best. I’m ending my career here with a good amount of titles. I offered to reduce my salary by 50%, but they didn’t ask me for anything else. The news I asked for 30% more is a lie, a lot of things people are saying is not true.”
“My family and I were convinced that we were going to stay here at home, that’s what we all wanted more than anything.
“We’ve made this our home and we thought we would be staying in Barcelona.
“The time I’ve had here has been amazing but today I have to say goodbye to all of this. I’ve been here so many years, my entire life since I was 13.”
Messi, who has been a free agent since July 1, said that he wanted to stay with the club this year.
“This is the end with this club and now a new story will begin. Yes, it’s one of the most difficult moments for me. I don’t want to leave this club, it’s a club I love and this is a moment I didn’t expect. Last year I wanted to leave, this year I wanted to stay, that’s why I’m so sad.”
He also revealed that moving to PSG is a possibility.
” It is a possibility. I’ve had nothing confirmed with anyone. When the press release went out I had a lot of calls and we are talking about a lot of things.”
He added that he is going to keep competing.
“Thankfully up to now I’ve not had any serious injuries. Let’s keep moving forward as it could all end quickly. Until I can, I’m going to keep competing.”
