Today, August 8, 2021, Lionel Messi left Football Club Barcelona. It is a day we all imagined would come eventually when Messi retired. However, Messi's departure today was for another reason - the inability of the club to re-sign him because of debt and wage issues despite his agreement to take a 50 percent pay cut to stay.
There have already been many columns written today or in recent days about how the past two Barca presidents have mismanaged this club and drove it into the ditch. This post will not tread on the same ground. Rather, I would like to use this space to explain just what this man has meant to me for the past 11 years.
I first heard the name Messi in the 2010 World Cup. In previous editions of the World Cup, I had watched the final match, but 2010 the first World Cup that I followed as a true fan of soccer. Though Argentina underperformed - mainly due to the mismanagement of the team by former icon Diego Maradona - Spain sent the tournament on fire, and I became an instant fan of the way they played. Little did I know that the core of the Spanish National Team was built around Barca players - like Xavi and Iniesta - who played back in Spain with Leo Messi.
That 2010-2011 season I began to follow Barca religiously, and I was awe-struck every week by the connection these players had with each other. In retrospect, their understanding of each other was not surprising since so many of them came up through Barca's academy - La Masia - and had been playing with each other for almost a decade.
Leo did not just inspire me to become a fan. He also inspired me to start playing the game. I remember coming across a pick-up game in Grant Park as I was out for a run. Somehow, I got up the courage to try to join in, and I remember there was a player named Andy Shaw who encouraged me and gave me a few tips in my first outing. Needless to say, I was awful but also undeterred.
From there, I began to play pick-up with this crew most weeks, and this was the time Nicholas began to play rec and ed soccer. Ultimately, I became one of the coaches, and Cate soon followed suit as a player.
Our shared love of soccer and Barca has been one of the most meaningful things in my life, and we have made many pilgrimage to the Camp Nou where Barca play to see Leo and the team. Each time, there is something special that happens, and Leo is generally right in the middle of things!
There have been high and lows with the club, including the many "clasicos" against Real Madrid in which I knew Messi could turn the game on its head in just one move - and he often did - European nights of glory but also perfidy, and so many moments of greatness.
Messi gave his all and the best years of his life to that club, and on some level, he probably feels that this was reciprocal. Though he wished to move on last summer after years of mismanagement, he was forced to stay. This summer, though, he had decided to stay and had been assured that he could stay, but alas this was another promise unkept.
What struck me most at Messi's press conference today was the absolute absence of recrimination or blame. What did not surprise me despite the unfitting manner of his exit, was the bounty of tears Leo shed. One cannot spend 21 years with anyone or at any workplace and not feel love and allegiance, and those emotions were on full display. I, too, know about moving on, and I am sure Messi will land on his feet and make whatever new club he joins the best on the planet! The Mastercard advert from the picture below says it all; you are truly priceless!
As I reflect on all the magic of Messi's exploits, I am left with one word: joy. Perhaps the true test of a player's greatness is not what they did or how many trophies they won, but how they made you feel. No one has made me feel so much and for that Leo, gracias.
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