Soccer icon Lionel Messi fought back tears on Sunday as he bid a painful farewell to FC Barcelona.
“I’m not ready for this,” the 34-year-old said during a news conference at the club’s stadium, Camp Nou — a stage on which he spent the past 17 seasons burnishing a legacy as the club’s, and perhaps the sport’s, greatest ever player.
“I gave everything for this club from the first day I arrived to the last,” he told reporters at a hastily arranged event for which neither Messi nor the sports world appeared ready. “I never imagined having to say goodbye.”
Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics
Barcelona announced that it would not renew the Argentine forward’s contract on Thursday, with the Catalan giants’ dire financial situation and stringent rules from the Spanish league making it impossible for him to stay despite the wishes of both parties.
“Despite club and player reaching an agreement and their clear intention to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of financial and structural obstacles,” the club said in a brief statement.
The move left the world of soccer reeling, with its most heralded star forced to leave the only home he’s ever known.
Messi said he did “everything possible” to stay.
But focus now shifts to his next move, with French giants Paris Saint-Germain — owned by the state-owned Qatar Sports Investment and thus rarely short of cash — widely seen as the frontrunners for his signature.
Messi did not say what his immediate plans were, but said joining PSG was a “possibility.” He added that he received a lot of phone calls from various clubs, and has not signed anything yet.
Despite his advancing age, Messi remains a highly productive player in one of the world’s most elite leagues, scoring 30 goals in 30 matches last season.
He’s helped lead the team to 10 La Liga titles and won Europe’s most prestigious competition, the Champions League, four times. Messi has also won the men’s Ballon d’Or, the award honoring the world’s greatest soccer player, a record six times.
He leaves as Barcelona’s all-time leading scorer with 672 goals and is also the overall top scorer in the Spanish league with 474 goals from 520 matches.
“As long as I go on being competitive and as long as my body responds (I’ll carry on playing),” he told the news conference on Sunday.
Messi wiped tears from his face as he stood at the podium, with his wife and three sons watching on from the front row of the audience.
He received roaring applause and a standing ovation, with many of his teammates gathered to watch the occasion.
Messi’s departure comes at a time when athletes have become more empowered to make decisions about their career, with leagues including the NBA seeing players determined and able to craft their own future.
But having failed to force his way out of Barcelona last year — he was unhappy with the club’s direction after a run of questionable moves on and off the field — Messi must now leave against his wishes.
He had appeared set to stay at Barcelona, with Spanish media reporting the two sides had agreed to a new five-year deal involving a 50 percent pay cut.
But the club, whose debts total way over $1 billion, were seemingly unable to make the deal work within the frameworks of the Spanish league’s financial fair play regulations.
“It was like my blood ran cold,” Messi said of the moment he was told he would have to leave Barcelona 21 years after first joining from Argentina as a boy. “It was very sad, very difficult,” he added.
“I tried to behave with humility and respect and I hope that is what remains of me when I leave the club.”