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Gallery|Football

The life of Lionel Messi at Barcelona

Messi joined Barcelona aged 13 and went on to score 672 goals in 778 appearances for the club.

Messi will no longer be a Barcelona player. [Albert Gea/Reuters]
Published On 8 Aug 20218 Aug 2021
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Lionel Messi will be leaving Barcelona after spending 21 years at the Catalan club.

The Argentinian superstar, a six-time Ballon d’Or winner, has been out of contract since the end of June and Barca say they cannot afford to keep him, with Messi admitting that a move to Paris Saint-Germain is a “possibility”.

“This year, my family and I were convinced we were going to stay here, at home – this is what we wanted more than anything,” said a suited Messi as he struggled to contain his emotions.

“I have still not come to terms with the reality of leaving this club now, changing my life. I love this club.”

Messi joined Barcelona aged 13 and went on to score 672 goals in 778 appearances for the club.

The 34-year-old won La Liga 10 times and the Champions League four times.

Here is how his football career panned out at Barcelona.

Messi (L) is challenged by Villarreal's Arruabarrena during their Spanish league match on December, 4, 2005. [Heino Kalis/Reuters]
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Barcelona's Giuly, Messi, Belletti, Van Bronckhorst and Larsson celebrate with the UEFA Champions League trophy in 2006. [Action Images / Michael Regan via Reuters]
Messi (L) celebrates a goal with Henry during a Spanish league match at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, 2007. [Albert Gea/Reuters]
Messi drills the ball past Real Madrid goalkeeper Casillas during a league match at Nou Camp stadium, 2008. [Gustau Nacarino/Reuters
Messi (C) and Iniesta (R) celebrate with the trophy after winning the Champions League final against Manchester United at the Olympic Stadium in Rome in May 2009. [Albert Gea/Reuters]
Barcelona's president Joan Laporta (2nd L) and Messi hold the Spanish first division trophy of the 2009-10 season before a friendly match at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, on August 25, 2010. [Albert Gea/Reuters]
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Messi poses with his Ballon d'Or trophy, the World Player of the Year award, before the Spanish King's Cup football match against Real Betis at Camp Nou on January 12, 2011. [Gustau Nacarino/Reuters]
Messi (R) controls the ball in front of Real Madrid's Pepe (C) during their Spanish King's Cup quarter-final second leg 'El Clasico' on January 25, 2012. [Gustau Nacarino/Reuters]
Messi kicks the ball to score past Malaga's goalkeeper Willy Caballero during a league match on January 13, 2013. [Marcelo del Pozo/Reuters]
Messi celebrates after scoring a penalty past Manchester City's goalkeeper Joe Hart (L) during their Champions League football match at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, on February 18, 2014. [Nigel Roddis/Reuters]
Messi celebrates a goal against Elche during their Spanish King's Cup match at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on January 8, 2015. [Albert Gea/Reuters]
Messi and Real Betis's Mandi in action at Benito Villamarin stadium in Seville, Spain on January 29, 2017. [Jon Nazca/Reuters]
Messi celebrates scoring Barcelona's second goal at the Spanish King's Cup final against Sevilla on April 21, 2018. [Susana Vera/Reuters]
Messi celebrates scoring Barca's fifth goal to complete his hat-trick against Mallorca on December 7, 2019. [Albert Gea/Reuters]
Messi in action against Eibar on Camp Nou while the fans were still allowed before the pandemic. [Albert Gea/Reuters]
It all ended with Messi breaking down in tears as he confirmed his Barcelona exit. [Albert Gea/Reuters]


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