Lionel Messi talks PSG, Champions League, Laporta, and facing Barcelona in the future

Lionel Messi showed up at the Camp Nou to deliver his farewell, but right from the get-go, it was clear that it was not going to be easy. Before even beginning to speak, Messi started to tear up and could barely speak.

Sorting himself out, he started to deliver a tear-jerker of a goodbye, talking about the fans, his teammates, and how he has grown in the Catalan capital. The entire audience stood up to applaud Leo before the room was opened to questions.

On his best moment

“It’s difficult to chose, but making my debut was a dream come true. Everything that came later was amazing, but I’ll always remember that moment when everything started.”

“I’m blocked. I can’t think of what to say. I can’t accept the reality of leaving this club and changing my life completely.”

On his future, and PSG

“I have nothing confirmed with anybody, but PSG is a possibility. When the news was there, I had a lot of calls, but nothing is closed yet.”

On the photo with PSG players in Ibiza: “It was a coincidence. We got together one day, and we’re friends.”

“People were saying “come to Paris come to Paris” [following the picture], but it was just a joke. We were together with friends.”

On getting a proper farewell at Camp Nou later

“I have nothing confirmed with anybody, but it’s a possibility. When the news was there, I had a lot of calls, but nothing is closed yet.”

On his renewal crashing down

“We were convinced that I was going to stay. There was no problem. In any case, on my side. For my part, I gave no false hope.”

“It was really difficult when I found the news. I’m still trying to process it all. When I’ll be home it is going to be even worse, but the important thing is that I keep playing football. That’s what I like more than anything.”

“Like Laporta said, this club is bigger than any person. People will get used to it, like everything. We have really good players.”

“I offered to reduce my contract by 50%, and then they didn’t ask me for anything else. A lot of things that people say are not true. I did everything I could.”

When asked if he felt tricked: “No, no. Everyone did everything they could, and it wasn’t possible in the end. Everything was transparent. The problem is that when you don’t speak, they say a lot of things, and some of them aren’t true.”

On the possibility of playing against Barcelona

“The people in Barcelona know me, they know I like competing, and I’ll continue to fight to win everything.”

“Until I can, I’m going to keep competing.”

“I will try to win another Champions League. I think there could have been a time that we had won another one.”

“I also want to congratulate Dani Alves with this opportunity, for the Olympic gold that he has won. I’m very close to him.”