After a lot of waiting, finally what Barca fans did not want to happen happened. Messi said goodbye to the team after many ups and downs.
Messi joined Barcelona’s famous La Masia academy at the age of 13. In 2003, he made his first-team debut in a friendly against Porto. He was only 16 at the time – Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Messi joined Barca’s famous La Masia training facility in 2000. Since then, he has been with the Nou Camp team until now.
We invite readers to look back at Lionel Messi’s career in Barcelona colors through the photos below:
On May 1, 2005, Messi scored his first official goal for Barca. He entered the field in the 87th minute in the match against Albacete in La Liga. In the 91st minute, he entered his name on the scoreboard. The creator for Messi that day was Ronaldinho, the team’s legend – Photo: AFP
Messi’s first hat-trick in a Barca shirt came in a special match – a super classic in the 2006-2007 season. Real Madrid continuously took the lead, but a 19-year-old Messi did not let the opponent leave with 3 points. His hat-trick helped Barca draw 3-3 – Photo: GETTY IMAGES
After Ronaldinho left Barca, Messi took over the number 10 shirt. And under the hands of Pep Guardiola, his career began to flourish. In the 2009 Champions League final, Messi scored the header to set the score 2-0 against Man Utd and help Barca win the championship – Photo: GETTY IMAGES
In a later interview, Messi confirmed that it was the best goal of his career – Photo: GETTY IMAGES
The Champions League title in 2009 also helped Messi and Barca complete the treble. The Argentine player also officially affirmed himself as a new star of world football – Photo: GETTY IMAGES
The proof is that he surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo to win the 2009 Golden Ball award – Photo: GETTY IMAGES
One year later, Messi continued to win this title even though Barca could not defend the Champions League championship – Photo: AFP
In 2011, Barca once again faced Man Utd in the Champions League final. Victory continues to belong to the Catalan team. Messi is still one of the scorers in the 3-1 win. That year’s championship also helped Messi win the third Golden Ball in his career. He won another Golden Ball in 2012 – Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Another impressive goal by Messi in the Champions League. This time, the victim was Bayer Munich in the first leg of the 2015 semi-final. After skillfully handling the ball and causing centre-back Jerome Boateng to fall, Messi performed a technical chip that left goalkeeper Neuer helpless. The 3-0 victory helped Barca open the door to the final – Photo: AFP
In the final, Barca defeated Juventus 3-1 to take the throne. That was Messi’s 5th Champions League title and also his last championship with Barca in this arena. That year, the trio Messi – Suarez – Neymar was a terror to every defense. Messi also won his 5th Golden Ball after this season – Photo: REUTERS
In the years that followed, Messi continued to reap success with domestic titles – Photo: REUTERS
But the Champions League arena has become his obsession. Barca often suffers bitter defeats despite having a big advantage. Typically, the 0-4 loss to Liverpool in the second leg of the 2019 semi-final, despite winning 3-0 in the first leg – Photo: GETTY IMAGES
His consolation is winning the 2019 Golden Ball. That is the 6th Golden Ball in his career, an achievement that is very difficult for anyone to break – Photo: GETTY IMAGES
But the defeat to Liverpool in 2019 was not the darkest moment of Messi’s career. The humiliating 2-8 defeat to Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the 2020 Champions League was the most cruel thing he had to go through. That will forever be the most unforgettable moment for Barca fans as well as for Messi personally – Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Last April, Messi and Barca lifted the Spanish King’s Cup. At that time, no one thought it would be his last title in the home team’s Nou Camp shirt. On the morning of August 6, Barcelona announced that they were unable to sign a contract with Messi and agreed to part ways with their captain – Photo: REUTERS
Although his career has had its ups and downs, Lionel Messi is undoubtedly one of the greatest legends in history at Barca. Here, he played 788 matches, scored 672 goals and won a total of 34 titles – Photo: REUTERS
