From the napkin to the goodbye announced by Barça: this was Messi's era at Barça

Someday it had to happen, but not even the most pessimistic thought it was going to be this summer and even less this way, when everything seemed tied and well tied. However, finally Barcelona officially announced that Leo Messi will not continue at the club, thus closing almost two decades of successes, victories, titles and glory.

And there is no player in the almost 130 years of the club who has played so many games (774), who has scored so many goals (670) and even less who has won so many titles (35).

In this last section is where all the excellence of the Argentine star shines especially, with a record that is as dazzling as it is spectacular: ten Leagues, four Champions League, seven Copa del Rey, three Club World Cups, three European Super Cups and 8 Spanish Super Cups.

The year 2009 will remain in the memory of all, where the team, with Pep Guardiola on the bench, and Messi as the absolute leader, won the sextete for the first time in history, that is, the six titles in a single year, a A plenary session that elevated the Blaugrana to the football Olympus and Leo definitively elevated him as the best player on the planet, a place where he not only continues but has reinforced his legend based on goals and assists.

And not only has he been the player who has won the most titles in the history of Barcelona, ​​but he has also achieved an unapproachable record of individual titles: eight league 'pichichis' and six Ballons d'Or, which could be seven if the predictions are confirmed. Looking ahead to this year, after his exhibition at the Copa América, where he carried the albiceleste to the achievement of this competition.

In addition, the forward leaves the Catalan club as the player who has worn his shirt the most times (778) and as the top scorer in the history of the institution (672 goals), which in turn allowed him to beat Pelé's record in the same club (the Brazilian scored 643 ).

Talking about the era of Messi at Barça is also talking about records, most of which are looming almost impossible to overcome. The Rosario leaves like the top scorer in LaLiga history with 474 goals, the player with the most Ballon d'Ors and the most Golden Boots (six in both cases) and as the first footballer capable of scoring five goals in a Champions League match (against Bayer Leverkusen in 2012).

With Rijkaard

Leo Messi made his debut with Barça in a friendly match in Porto, on November 16, 2003, when he was only 16 years old and under the orders of Frank Rijkaard. The almost 18 years after that debut have been full of memorable moments for the fans of the Catalans.

The Argentine's first official match with Barça came on October 16, 2004 against Albacete and the star already left an unforgettable play: a goal from Vaseline in combination with Ronaldinho.

Then, and still with Rijkaard on the bench, came episodes as remembered as his exhibition in the Champions League at Stamford Bridge (2006), his first triplet of goals against Real Madrid (2007) or his Maradonian goal against Getafe (2007 ).

With Guardiola

But his true emergence as the best player in the world came from the hand of Pep Guardiola and the legendary team capable of winning the first treble in the history of Barça in the 2008-2009 season and the first 'sextete' in the history of football in 2009.

With Guardiola on the bench (2008-2012), Messi's Barcelona won, among others, two Champions League titles and three LaLiga titles in four years, as well as playing football that earned him praise from around the world.

With Luis Enrique

The next great moment of the Rosario star in Barcelona came with the formation in the team of Luis Enrique of the 'MSN', as the forward made up of the Uruguayan Luis Suárez, the Brazilian Neymar and Messi himself became known.

Along with that explosive combination, the '10' raised another treble in the 2014-2015 campaign, including the Champions League won in Berlin, the last one achieved to date by Barcelona.

Despite the European drought, Messi continued to be the banner of the Barça team under the baton of Ernesto Valverde, Quique Setién and in the first season of Ronald Koeman.

Relationship with the club

The forward's relationship with the club and the board chaired by Josep Maria Bartomeu gradually eroded since the departure of Neymar to PSG in 2017 and exploded in the summer of 2020, when after the departure of Luis Suárez and a new European humiliation, Messi sent a burofax asking to leave the club.

Bartomeu did not allow his departure and the Argentine wanted to avoid the legal route, so the footballer exhausted the contract that bound him to Barça until June 30, 2021.

Once the link expired, the new president, Joan Laporta, made Messi's renewal a major issue, but the club's ailing economy did not allow the agreement.

For this reason, the story that began in 2000 ended with a brief statement from the club one afternoon in August 2021: “Despite having reached an agreement between FC Barcelona and Leo Messi and with the clear intention of both parties to sign a new contract today, it cannot be formalized due to economic and structural obstacles. “