Lionel Messi has spoken up about his Barcelona departure and the decision to join PSG, claiming he was left with no choice but to exit Camp Nou.
In an interview with France Football, as quoted by Get French Football News, Lionel Messi has spoken up about his shock departure from Barcelona in the summer transfer window. The Argentine wizard has claimed that he was left with no choice but to make the move away from the Nou Camp before joining Paris Saint-Germain.
It is an announcement that still seems shocking, a couple of months after it was completed. Lionel Messi leaving Barcelona was an eventuality that very few would have envisioned at the stage of his career he currently is in, despite the instability at the Catalan club.
However, it did happen, as in the first week of August, it was announced that Messi would not be renewing terms with Barcelona. A few days later, his move to Paris Saint-Germain was officiated, with Barcelona fans left shell-shocked. And now, Messi himself has opened up about his exit from Camp Nou.
Speaking to France Football (h/t GFFN), Messi said, “I came back to Barcelona to prepare the season after making the most of a few extra days off that the manager had given me. My idea was to sign my contract and then start training again straight away. I thought everything was sorted and that it was just missing my signature [on the contract].”
“But when I arrived in Barcelona I was told that it wasn’t possible anymore, that I couldn’t stay and that I had to find myself another club, because Barcelona didn’t have the means to renew my contract. It shook up my plans. It was the first time this happened in my career. Lots of things were going on in my head, but I didn’t have any other choice than to leave. That’s how it was and we had to accept it.”
Indeed, leaving Barcelona would have been quite tough for Messi despite some run-ins with the board at times. Joan Laporta recently confessed how he was hoping that Messi would say he would play for free for Barcelona. Messi, though, has rightly made his way to Paris Saint-Germain and he would be hoping to win it all with the heavily-loaded French giants this season.
