- Barcelona skipper Lionel Messi expressed his dismay at fellow South American Luis Suarez’s exit from the club.
- Messi believes Suarez deserved a better send-off from the club after what he’s achieved for the Blaugrana.
The Argentine and the Uruguayan forged a surreal relationship on and off the pitch during Suarez’s six years at Barcelona. The former Liverpool striker will go down as the most prolific teammate of Leo Messi’s illustrious career, having combined with him for just under 100 goals for the Blaugrana.
The 33-year-old was, however, sold by the club to LaLiga Santander rivals Atletico Madrid after it was made clear to him that he wasn’t part of new manager Ronald Koeman’s plans. Messi, evidently, wasn’t impressed with the manner in which Suarez’s exit was handled.
Messi’s emotional message for Suarez upon Barcelona exit
In a rather strongly-worded emotional farewell post on Instagram, Messi expressed his dismay at Suarez’s exit from the club. The six-time Ballon d’Or winner wrote;
“I had already begun to imagine it, but today I went into the dressing room, and it truly dawned on me. It’s going to be so difficult to not continue to share every day with you [Suarez] both on and off the pitches and away from them. We’re going to miss you so much.”
Messi added,
“We spent many years together, drank many mates, had many lunches and many dinners. So many things we will never forget, all the time we spent together. It will be strange to see you in another shirt and much more to come up against you on the pitch.”
Messi shared an extraordinary understanding with Suarez on the pitch and the former Ajax striker grew into one of his most beloved companions in the sport. More importantly, Suarez etched his name into Barcelona’s history books and left the club as their third-highest scorer, cementing his place alongside Nou Camp’s most significant figures.
It is for this reason that Messi believes that Suarez deserved a better send-off than what he received. The Barcelona skipper feels that the striker was ‘throw out’ by the club, and took a swipe at them by saying that ‘nothing surprises him’ at this point.
He expressed and ended on an emotional note, saying,
“You deserved a farewell that fit with who you are: one of the most important players in the history of the club. Someone who achieved great things for the team and on an individual level. You did not deserve for them to throw you out like they did. But the truth is that at this stage nothing surprises me anymore.”
“I wish you all the best in your new journey. I love you loads. See you soon, friend.”
It appears that their former teammate Neymar, who played an immense role in Barcelona’s treble in 2014/15, is on the same page as Messi.
The Brazilian superstar responded to Messi’s emotional post in a comment which read, “Incredible how they do things.”
Suarez’s departure is another unfortunate event in what has already been a rough summer for Leo Messi after Barcelona and LaLiga blocked his exit from the club. The captain’s contract runs out at the end of the 2020/21 campaign.
