Lionel Messi leaving FC Barcelona continues to be a talking point as the 34-year-old departed the club he spent his entire first-team career.
In an interview with Sport, Atlético Madrid forward Luis Suárez commented on seeing his former teammate departing the Spanish side. Seeing Messi leave caught the Uruguay international by surprise. The 34-year-old stated that Messi was happy at Barcelona and wanted to finish his career there.
“As a friend, I had to act, supporting him, so that he was not crestfallen or down. I was very surprised because everything was arranged. Leo was happy; I shared a vacation with him and was delighted with life. _ He told me ‘I will finish my career at Barcelona, which is what I always wanted, the club that has given me everything and the children are happy. From one hour to the next, everything changed. For me, it was a very hard blow because of what this meant for Leo,” Suárez said.
“At that very moment, he was not there, and I went with him when I saw what he was suffering. Leo loves the club; he owes a lot to Barcelona. He said goodbye like a lord like he is the best player in the club’s history. He left with the uncertainty of what would have happened because, obviously, the forms have bothered him, that everything changed from one hour to the next.”
Nonetheless, the financial issues that Barcelona found themselves in made it difficult to keep Messi as his wages wouldn’t allow for them to be cap compliant.
