Lionel Messi breaks down as he bids adieu to Barcelona, calls his exit 'difficult'

Lionel Messi was reduced to tears in a heartbreaking and emotional press conference at Camp Nou as he bid farewell to his boyhood club FC Barcelona where he spent 21 years. As Leo stood by the podium, the crowd consisting of Barcelona players and media persons, stood and applauded their legend for over a minute and a half, as Messi could not hold back his tears.

As the resounding applause began to fade, Messi pulled out a tissue and wiped his tears as he began to speak about his departure and say his farewell.

“The truth is don't know what to say. In recent days I have given lots of thought to what I can say and the truth is that I can't think of anything. This is really difficult for me after so many years of being here, my entire life. I'm not ready for this,” said Messi as he tried to hold back his tears.

“We've lived in this city, this is our home. I'm just really grateful for everything, all my teammates, everyone who has been by my side.”

Messi says he gave his everything for the club

"I gave everything for this club from the first day I arrived to the last. I never imagined having to say goodbye as I didn't think about it. A lot of things have gone through my head. I've still not come to terms with the reality of leaving this club now and changing my life. We need to accept it and move forward.”

Messi also talked about how he imagined his departure would have looked like, saying that the Camp Nou would have been full and he would have been able to say his goodbyes properly but owing to the current scenario (COVID-19 pandemic) he understood the limitations.

“We have had some good times and some bad times as well, but the love people have shown me has always been the same. I hope that I can come back and be part of this club in any moment, in any way and bring something to help this club be the best in the world.”

"I am forgetting so many things that I wanted to say, but that's all I can say right now. I've thought about it a lot, but the words won't come to me. Thank you to everyone”  he said as he teared up again and another round of applause began.

Why is Messi leaving Camp Nou after 21 years?

While speaking at a press conference on Friday, Laporta explained that the club was not able to register Lionel Messi's contract because of LaLiga's financial fair play rules.

"What we are spending is a lot more than we expected and the current contracts mean that we have this salary mass of great magnitude. This is all tied to fair play. La Liga doesn't follow the criteria of cash, that is why we couldn't fit in the first contract that we agreed with Leo Messi," said Laporta.

(Image Credits: @FCBarcelona – Twitter)