Lionel Messi said goodbye to FC Barcelona, the greatest player of all time, who played at the club since he was a 13-year-old child. He went on to score 672 goals in 778 appearances for the club, Messi will move on from Barcelona with 10 league titles, four Champions League crowns, and three Club World Cups among his haul of 35 trophies.

Lionel Messi fought back tears as he began his press conference, in which he confirmed that he will be leaving Barcelona, a club where he played the entirety of his career. He got emotional before he even started the press conference saying that he’s not ready for this.

“These recent days, I’ve been giving lots of thought about what I could say, and the truth is that I can’t think of anything,” Messi told the press conference as hundreds of culers( a term used for Barcelona fans) wearing his number 10 jersey, massed outside Barca’s Camp Nou stadium to bid farewell to the player.

At the press conference were his teammates and his family and club president Joan Laporta at the Camp Nou. The Barcelona legend struggled to hold himself together as he took the stage. He began the address by stating that he and his family had no intentions to leave and had been planning their future in Barcelona.

“A lot of things have gone through my head. I’ve still not come to terms with the reality of leaving this club now and changing my life. We need to accept it and move forward. The time when I made my debut, that was my dream come true and everything that came later was amazing. I will always remember that moment where everything started.”, the Argentine said.

“Honestly last year with all the nonsense with the Burofax I was convinced I knew what I wanted to say, but this year is not the same. This year my family and I were convinced we were going to stay here at home, its what we wanted more than anything.”

“I did everything to stay here. I agreed to reduce my salary by 50 percent.”

“We have had some good times and some bad times as well, but the love people have shown me has always been the same.”

Messi did not clear the air around his future destination but said that a move to Paris Saint-German is now “possible” but nothing final yet.

“I’ve been here so many years, my entire life since I was 13. After 21 years, I’m leaving with my wife, my three little Catalan-Argentine kids, and I can’t tell you we won’t come back because this is my home, and I promised my children that.”

“I tried to behave with humility and respect, and I hope that is what remains of me when I leave the club.”

The six-time Ballon D’or winner also added that he told the club that he can take a 50% cut in his contract but even then, the club couldn’t register his new contract as such is the economical disaster that the club is facing currently. He also put to bed some of the fake news that he asked for a 30% pay rise from the club.

“My contract was never the issue … what I know is that I did everything I could. The club say it could not happen because of La Liga. I can guarantee you that I did everything I could to stay.”

With this, Barcelona is witnessing an end of an era in the most unfortunate fashion, to see the club icon leaving the club, when even he wanted to stay and now the club has to rebuild its old glory that Messi created as many fans believe that the club could the see the same downfall that Italian club AC Milan once experienced.

Meanwhile, rival fans especially Real Madrid fans couldn’t control themselves from making memes at such an emotional day for Barcelona and Messi fans.