‘I wanted to stay’: Lionel Messi tearful at Barcelona exit as PSG move looms

• Argentinian leaves Barça after more than 20 years at club
• He denies deal already agreed with Paris Saint-Germain

Lionel Messi hadn’t even started talking when he started crying. Holding a tissue handed to him by his wife, Antonella, he leant on the lectern and looked down, lost.

There was applause from the room, a lot of red eyes, but no words yet, and none that were much use anyway. “Bon día,” he said eventually. “For the last few days, I have been turning over what I would say, what I could say, and nothing came out. I had a block; I still do. This is very hard for me; I’m not prepared for this.”

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