Why Barcelona Legend Messi is Leaving

ESPN Daily

ESPN

Sports

4.6 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 9 August 2021

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In an emotional press conference, Lionel Messi said his final goodbye to Barcelona. It’s been his team for more than 20 years, since he was 13 years old. While Messi and Barcelona had agreed on a five-year extension, the deal fell through because of rules from Spain’s league, LaLiga. ESPN’s Gab Marcotti explains how and why Barcelona allowed this to happen, and the impact of Messi’s exit on the rest of the sport. Then, how the Texas Rangers’ Brock Holt threw a historically slow strike. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	That is the sound of the Barcelona faithful, saluting their idol, not after a game, but after a press conference yesterday.
0:22.6	Lionel Messi, the man many consider the single greatest soccer player of all time,
0:27.6	has declared that he is leaving the only club he has ever known, FC Barcelona.
0:34.6	So today, we examine a split that is as stunning as it is mysterious, because seemingly
0:42.2	no one, not the fans, not the club, and not Messi, even wanted him to leave. I'm Pablo Torre. It's
0:51.7	Monday, August 9th. This is ESPN Daily.
0:58.5	So Gab Marcotti, how long have you covered Messi at Barcelona?
1:02.7	All right. You're trying to date me now.
1:05.6	Gab Marcotti covers soccer for ESPN from London, and he also co-hosts the Gab and Jules Show podcast.
1:12.7	But yes, I was already a professional journalist when Lionel Messi, not just when he made his
1:18.1	debut for Barcelona, but when he left Rosario and Argentina 21 years ago, and in fact,
1:24.4	it's going to be 21, it would have been 21 years next month in September for Barcelona. And people were talking about them already. Yeah, until yesterday, Gab,
1:33.4	I mean, what was so striking about what we saw at this press conference that he gave,
1:38.0	it was the emotion, it felt like. It was the most popular athlete on the planet, arguably,
1:43.4	maybe the greatest soccer player of all time,
1:46.4	Leo Messi confirming that he's leaving Barcelona,
1:49.0	the club he's been a part of for, as you say,
1:51.4	21 years since he was just 13 years old,
1:54.5	and he was crying.
1:56.5	He was tearful throughout.
1:57.9	This for me,
1:59.3	after many of many years, after being here my
	...

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