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Fans Destroy FC Barcelona For Throwing Lionel Messi Under The Bus After MLS Move

#Lionel Messi
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FC Barcelona is one of the most prestigious soccer teams in the entire world.

The accolades speak for themselves: 27 La Liga championships, 31 Copa del Rey victories, and five UEFA Champions League trophies.

But even a club as prestigious as Barcelona has never may never again see a player quite like Lionel Messi. In fact, the world may not see another player quite like Messi for a long time to come.

The Argentinian superstar is a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner as the world’s best player. He won the Golden Ball as the World Cup’s best player in 2014 and 2022. He’s second all-time in goals scored in the UEFA Champions League behind Cristiano Ronaldo and is the all-time leading scorer in La Liga.

Oh, and he led his country to its first World Cup victory in 36 years in 2022.

Simply put, the world may never see another Lionel Messi.

Messi began his time with Barca as a 13-year-old in the club’s academy in 2000. He worked his way up through the rankings, playing in the academy, then the C team, the B team, and eventually the first team.

His name is forever etched in the club’s history and he only left the club in 2021 when financial mismanagement meant they could not afford to keep him.

After two years with French club Paris Saint-Germain, it appeared a return to Barcelona could be possible in 2023. But more financial concerns meant that it may not have been possible.

So instead, the legendary forward opted to join Inter Miami of Major League Soccer.

You would think that Barcelona’s management would understand the decision and their role in making it happen. But instead, the club threw shade at Messi in a press release put out on Wednesday night.

“President Laporta understood and respected Messi’s decision to want to compete in a league with fewer demands, further away from the spotlight and the pressure he has been subject to in recent years,” the release read.

Yes, playing in MLS will put him under less of a microscope than if he’d returned to Barcelona. But the decision was essentially forced on the player by Barca’s mismanagement.

Fans could not believe the audacity of the club and hammered it for the statement.

https://twitter.com/mrjordangardner/status/1666550460793356289?s=20

The tweet sharing the press release currently has over 10,000 quote tweets. Almost all of them are calling the club out over the statement.

Quite the way to treat a club legend.