The departure of Lionel Messi from Barcelona was one that surprised the footballing world.
Even after becoming a free agent, the expectation was for Messi to re-sign with Barca. Still, this did not transpire, as Barca’s financial complications prevented the club from bringing back the Argentine forward for at least one more season.
Barca defender Gerard Pique was much shocked when he found out that Messi could not return to the Catalan giants, which the veteran spoke further about to Ibai’s Twitch channel (via Le10Sport).
“Nobody expected Leo [Messi] to leave,” Pique said. “They told us right away, and it was hard. Leo made us all better but you have to accept it because it is the reality of the situation. We have to go ahead and wish him the best of luck.”
Messi’s Barca career is all over, but his Paris Saint-Germain run is just getting started.
The Argentine will be well looking to not only form strong chemistry with the likes of Neymar and Marco Verratti on the pitch but also to help the club win a long-awaited first UEFA Champions League trophy.
The addition of Messi surely ups the expectations for PSG this season, as it is now Champions League or bust for the French powerhouse.
I smelled it, when Laporta won the election, a great liar and a deceiver, nothing was done right to retain Messi, busy beating around the bush, Shame on Laporta. Your financial reasons to allow him to leave is political.