Lionel Messi took time out for Barcelona fans after emotional goodbye ahead of PSG move | OneFootball

Lionel Messi officially bid goodbye to Barcelona on Sunday.

After 778 appearances and 672 goals in the famous red and blue stripes, Messi announced his departure from Camp Nou with a teary press conference that touched the footballing world.

It was a heart-wrenching moment that many thought would never come and nobody could have predicted that such a monumental exit would happen under these circumstances.

Messi leaves Barcelona

But alas, financial reasons have prevented Barcelona and Messi from continuing a marriage that might well endure as the greatest player-club collaboration that football has ever seen.

Now, everything points towards Messi becoming a Paris Saint-Germain player, but make no mistake that the reverberations of the divorce with Barcelona won't die down for weeks and months to come.

And no matter what Messi goes on to achieve at the Parc des Princes, it seems impossible that anybody in football will love him more than those who line the aisles of Camp Nou every week.

Lionel Messi to PSG VERY CLOSE & ADVANCED (Football Terrace)

Barcelona fans' love for Messi

The relationship that Messi holds with Barcelona fans has always been a special one and that couldn't have been more apparent than around his farewell press conference on Sunday.

Footage emerged throughout the day showing Barcelona fans interacting with Messi's vehicle as it arrived and departed Camp Nou as if to get one final glimpse of the club's greatest ever player.

However, of all the videos to have emerged in the aftermath of Messi's goodbye, perhaps few are more poignant or true to the Argentine's character than one of him taking time for supporters.

Taking time out for fans

ESPN shared footage of Messi signing memorabilia such as shirts and photographs for fans who had stopped him in his car, which they claim took place after his press conference at Camp Nou.

If that's the case, then you have to take your hat off to Messi for showing love for his fans when he had just gone through, in his own words, the toughest moment of his professional career.

In a way, it feels like Messi's final interaction with Barcelona fans as one of their own.

A heartbreaking goodbye

No doubt we will see Messi back at the club he loves in some capacity in the future but for now, at least some of their supporters can revel in special items that have been signed by the man himself.

Speaking at his press conference earlier in the day, Messi had spoken from the heart by saying: "I don't want to leave this club - it's a club I love and this is a moment I didn't expect.

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"It was like my blood ran cold. I was really sad. It was really difficult right up to now. I'm still trying to process it all. When I get home I will still feel bad; it will be even worse. I'm not ready for this."

We're not ready for it either, Lionel - it's the end of an era.

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