Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi said he misses Barcelona as part of an interview to mark the club's 125th anniversary on Friday.
Messi first joined Barça as a teenager in 2000 and spent 21 years at the club, becoming the club's all-time leading scorer and goalscorer with 672 goals in 778 games.
“Congratulations to Barça on its 125th anniversary,” Messi said in an interview with TV3 that was broadcast coinciding with the day the Swiss Joan Gamper founded the club in a gym in the city in 1899.
“It is an honor to be part of the club, to be a Barça fan. I am lucky that God took me there and I was able to spend most of my life in such a wonderful club.
“It is a special club, different from the rest, with the difficulties that this entails at the moment, taking into account how things are managed in football these days.
“They changed everything and today the club is represented as we want. We like the first team, we are very proud [to see the youngsters there].
“I miss the club a lot, the city, the people, the love… And, as always, I hope that things continue well and we can continue making this great club even bigger.”
Since its founding 125 years ago, Barça has won a combined total of 36 LaLiga and F-League titles and eight UEFA Champions League crowns between its men's and women's teams.
Messi was part of 10 of those LaLiga titles and four Champions League titles before leaving for Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.
The 37-year-old mentioned 2009, when Barça won LaLiga, the Champions League, the Copa del Rey, the UEFA Super Cup, the Spanish Super Cup and the Club World Cup, as his most notable moment at the club. .
“The year we won the six trophies,” Messi said when asked about his best moment. “You enjoy every day, the training sessions, the games… going out to play and knowing how the games would end.
“We were so confident we were going to win. It was a year I really enjoyed and I think everyone else did too.”
Barça will celebrate its anniversary with a special gala at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, just off the city's La Rambla, on Friday. Around 2,000 people have been invited to the event, many of them with links to the club's historical past.
Among those present will be the first team coach, Hansi Flick, and his players. The German coach, who took over in the summer, says he already sees why Barça's motto is 'Més que un club' (More than a club).
“This club is incredible, it's really incredible,” Flick said at a news conference on Friday.
“Since I arrived, I said it, I have been very impressed with everything here. Now, a few days later, my coaching staff can really work freely, they do everything we need. It's a really good situation.
“All the fans, when I walk down the street, it's incredible how they talk to me, how they are very kind to us, to my team, to my teammates and to me. It's really a pleasure to be here, to work for this club. And it's more than a club, yes, I can say that.
“It is a great honor to be Barça coach. I know the history of this incredible club very well. Today we will be at the celebration, the players are also there and we can have an idea of it.”
