Lionel Messi's decision to leave Europe to continue playing in North America has rocked the world. Barcelona fans feel betrayed for his decision while MLS fans are already looking forward to watch him on the pitch. But before that happens, the Argentine player decided to share the reasons why he chose to move to North America, and most of them had to do with the way in which he left Barcelona a couple of years ago.
In an interview with Mundo Deportivo and Sport, the former Blaugrana ace did not hold back when discussing how his exit from Camp Nou had a direct impact in the decision made public today.
"Obviously I wanted to return, I really wanted it to happen, but on the other hand, after going through everything that happened when I left, I didn't want to be in the same situation: to wait and see what was going to happen and leave my future in someone else's hands. I wanted to decide for myself, thinking about me and my family," Messi said.
The footballer went on to admit that he did not want to carry the weight of watching players getting fired from the Blaugrana club to facilitate his signing.
"I heard that La Liga had accepted everything and that we were on the right track for me to go back, but there were many things to be sorted out before I could go back. I heard they had to sell players or to cut their wages and I did not want to go through that, or to have anything to do with those decisions," the player stated.
The 2022 World Cup winner with La Albiceleste even pointed a few fingers at some Blaugrana and La Liga execs, who were responsible for his exit in 2021 and who also blamed him for several issues that he was not even aware of.
"There were some who accused me of many things during my career at Barcelona and I am honestly tired of it, I did not want to go through that again. When I left (in 2021), La Liga had allegedly accepted my new deal and in the end it did not happen. I was afraid I was being forced to go down the same road one more time," the footballer told the Catalan media outlets.
Messi went on to discuss his relationship with president Joan Laporta and coach Xavi Hernández, admitting that if he came close to going back to Barcelona, the credit would have been for the Spanish tactician.
"Actually, I have barely spoken with president Laporta since I left, once or twice tops. I do have a lot of back and forth with Xavi, much more since he joined the team. We also spoke about me going back to the team. We were looking forward to it, because whenever anything came out we spoke about him wanting me back, if it was good for the team and for himself, and we've always kept in touch," Messi added.
Before the interview concluded, Messi admitted that he did not enjoy his time at PSG, which also had a major role on his decision to leave European football.
"I am in a moment of my life where I want to be out of the spotlight and think more about my family. I spent the past two years in a bad mood when it came to my family and I was just not enjoying myself. I had a spectacular month when we won the World Cup, but putting that aside, it was a difficult stage of my career. I want to go back to enjoying myself, I want to enjoy my family, my kids, and day-to-day activities. That is why I decided not to go back to Barcelona," Messi concluded.
The player also added that there are things left to work out about his deal with Inter Miami, but after making a decision about his future, everything should not take too much to fall into place.
