IT ALL ENDS IN TEARS FOR MESSI AT BARCA
LIONEL MESSI vowed to go on winning trophies — and admitted he would probably be doing so at Paris SaintGermain — when he said an emotional goodbye to Barcelona yesterday. The 34-year-old was in tears before he began his farewell speech but he was soon looking towards the future. Asked about an imminent move to Ligue 1, he said: ‘The deal is not closed but PSG is a real possibility and we are talking.’ Messi was joined on stage by the 34 trophies he has won at Barcelona — only Dani Alves has more medals in world football. He added: ‘My aim is to keep winning, win a Champions League, catch Dani Alves.’ The prospect of Messi winning with the French side must be haunting Barcelona president Joan Laporta, who sat long-faced in the front row as Messi added: ‘When I leave here I will be even more sad but I will keep on playing football which is what I most love to do and I’m sure it (the sadness) will pass a bit.’ In the final press conference, in front of legendary former team-mates Xavi Hernandez and Carles Puyol as well as the current Barcelona squad, Messi blamed La Liga’s spending restrictions for his departure. ‘As the president (Laporta) said, everything was done but it didn’t happen because of La Liga,’ he said. ‘Last year, I wanted to leave but this year I wanted to stay. I did all I could. I took a 50 per cent wage cut and we had closed the deal. ‘The club did not ask for anything else from me. ‘They did not ask me to take a further 30 per cent cut — that’s a lie. We did everything possible.’