Lionel Messi will have a farewell game organized by Barcelona after his infamous exit in 2021, according to the Catalan club’s sport chief, Deco.
Messi was denied a proper farewell when he left Barcelona for PSG in 2021. A goodbye speech in front of his family, teammates and club officials was all the seven time Ballon d’OR winner was subjected to before he left.
Barcelona sporting director, Deco has now revealed the club is putting together proper farewell game for the player who passes to be the greatest player in the club’s history, per FORBES.
“I have been friends with Leo for a long time. The question of him going to the United States was something that had been planned for a long time. He already mentioned this idea a long time ago.
“What changed were those two years at PSG, which perhaps should have been two years at Barcelona. I was not in the conversations (about Messi’s return). Obviously, Messi is one of the biggest idols in the history of the club. He is happy now and that is what I think he had to look for in his career.
“Returning to Barcelona would be something spectacular, because he is the best player in history, but things ended up happening like this and you can see that he is happy. That is what matters most.”
He continued: “I think it will be a farewell match, but maybe in the new stadium when it is ready. He will always be the greatest idol in the history of the club. The club had great idols, like Cruyff, Ronaldo, but he is perhaps the greatest of everyone. He will definitely play a farewell match for Barcelona, but when it will be, we don’t know. He is playing, and I hope he plays for more years, because people who like football, who like him, will be happy to see him happy.”
