Barcelona had announced on Thursday that Messi would leave the club on a free transfer this summer.

The Catalan club announced that Messi would not be signing a new contract due to LaLiga regulations.

However, during his farewell speech to Barcelona at a press conference today, Messi tried and failed to prevent himself from crying before delivering his speech, clearly affected by this week’s news that he would not be staying at the Camp Nou.

“These recent days I have been thinking, giving a lot of thought to what I can say,” Messi began, following days of silence on his part.

“And the truth is that I can’t think of anything, this is really difficult for me after so many years.

“I’ve been here my entire life, I’m not ready for this. And last year with all the nonsense, I was convinced of what I wanted to say, but this year it is not the same.

“This year my family and I were convinced we were going to stay here, that is what we all wanted more than anything. We were at home, and we thought we’d be staying here in Barcelona, the time we’ve hard here and with the city and football has been amazing.

“But today, I have to say goodbye to all of this.

“I’ve been here since I was 13. After 21 years I am leaving with my wife and three little Catalan-Argentine kids, and I can’t tell you everything.”