The President of the Generalitat de Catalunya – the governing parliament of Catalonia (spelt Catalunya in Catalan) – has said his goodbyes to Barcelona captain Lionel Messi after confirmation that he is leaving the club.
Quim Torra i Pla has tweeted directly to the Argentine and insists that “Catalonia will always be your home” after news broke that Messi is leaving Barcelona this summer.
“Catalonia will always be your home,” Quim Torra’s message reads.
Catalunya serà sempre casa teva. Moltes gràcies per tots aquest temps de felicitat i d’un futbol extraordinari. Hem tingut la sort de compartir uns anys de les nostres vides amb el millor jugador del món. I un noble esportista No t’oblidarem mai. Leo Messi, Creu de Sant Jordi. pic.twitter.com/Ojev577MoE
— Quim Torra i Pla (@QuimTorraiPla) August 25, 2020
“Thank you so much for all this time of happiness and extraordinary football. We have been lucky enough to share a few years of our lives with the best player in the world. And a noble athlete We will never forget you. Leo Messi, St. George’s Cross.”
It comes as the Association Press report that the Catalan giants contacted them directly on Tuesday to confirm that they have received documentation from the Argentine that he intends to quit the club immediately.
It confirms the multiple reports across Spanish and Argentinean media which claimed that Messi is leaving Barcelona and will attempt to activate a clause in his deal which allows him to break his contract.
Messi has won a record six Ballon d’Or awards during his spell at the Camp Nou, where he has spent the entirety of his professional career and firmly established himself as one of the greatest footballers ever to play the sport.
The 33-year-old has a clause in his deal allowing him to leave at the end of any season, and whilst it was thought that deadline passed in June, Marca say his camp believe that it has been extended in line with the prolonged 2019/20 season.
Messi has scored a scarcely believable 634 goals in 731 official appearances for Barcelona, but his time at the club now appears to be up and he is hopeful of becoming a free agent.
Yeah it is high time he try another club