Leo Messi is honest about his departure from Barcelona: “I was left with a strange feeling, I did not leave as I had imagined” | Football | Sports

“I had a strange feeling after leaving, because of how everything happened, because of how I ended up playing in my last years without people, because of the pandemic. I did not leave as I imagined, as I dreamed,” Leo Messi is honest about his departure from FC Barcelona in August 2021 in an interview with the newspaper. sports. After 20 years at the club, he left in tears, something he has never forgotten. He explains that his desire was to continue playing “his entire career” in Europe and in Barcelona. The farewell “was a little weird,” he remembers. “Because of the situation, because of everything. But I think people’s affection will always be there,” he adds, grateful for the affection that Barcelona fans continue to show him. “I probably enjoy it more now than I did back when things were happening because of the day-to-day dynamics,” he admits. “History is never forgotten, and not only with me, but with all the people who passed through the club.” Liu adds: “I keep everything I experienced during that period, and everything I developed as a person, as a player.”

Messi does not forget that he was not able to bid farewell to the Camp Nou. He explained in the interview that took place in Miami two weeks ago: “I really want to go back to the stadium when it is finished because since I went to Paris, I didn’t go back to Camp Nou either and then they went to Montjuïc. It will be very strange to go back to the new stadium (…) and it will be very exciting.” Barcelona President Joan Laporta has previously stated on several occasions that he intends to organize a tribute to Leo Messi upon completion of the Camp Nou stadium if he continues to lead the club, as before that, between March 15 and June 15, 2026, elections must be held. He adds: “I really want to go there. We miss Barcelona so much. The kids and my wife talk about things about Barcelona all the time, and the idea of ​​living there again.” In an outburst of nostalgia and affection, Messi kept his words, even if it was only for one day.

This Sunday, while the Blaugrana were watching their club’s match in Vigo, Messi returned to Camp Nou at night, secretly, behind Laporta’s back. Hours later, on Monday morning, he posted a series of photos on Instagram of the secret visit to the stadium under construction. he mail It has already received more than 22 million likes, more than his farewell post for Barcelona or his introduction with Paris Saint-Germain.

He ended up at the Parisian club after leaving Barcelona until 2023. Leo admitted: “It seemed like Paris was hell and it wasn’t. When I say I didn’t have a good time, it’s because I didn’t feel good about what I was doing and what I like to do, towards playing football, from day to day, from training, from matches, but because I didn’t feel good.” And then he went to Miami. “We are enjoying the city, day after day. As I just told you, it is a life very similar to what I had in Castelldefels, with the club nearby, the children’s school very close too, and everything at hand, convenient,” he explains. 10.

At Inter Miami, he witnessed the retirement announcements of Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, the footballers who accompanied him for most of his career. “On the field, as long as I can and feel good physically, I will continue to do it the same way, trying to compete, win and always give my best,” says Messi. “The moment I see that I am not there physically, and that it is difficult for me on the field or that I do not enjoy it, it will be time to end it.” Before that moment, Messi will want to heal the wound of the farewell that he did not have as a Barcelona player on his home soil: the Camp Nou.