Lionel Messi faced a barrage of questions from journalists at his farewell Barcelona media conference:
"What are your thoughts on La Liga?"
Messi responded, "I'm well aware that staying is a problem for La Liga, for the club's debt, and we can't let the debt problem continue to worsen."
"As for Tebas, there's not much I want to say."
"We've met a couple times and have had a good relationship. I don't have anything against Tebas."
"Will you continue to play for the team?"
Messi confessed, "I did my best, but staying was impossible."
"There's nothing more I can say about that."
"We did everything we could."
"So, what's next for you?"
Messi was passionate: "At the end of my career, I will fight to win the title. I still have the desire to win the title."
"There is no doubt that I will leave Barcelona and join a rival."
"I don't want to leave, but I want to keep winning."
"Would you accept a pay cut to stay with the team?"
Messi was adamant: "I had offered to reduce my salary by 50 percent and Barcelona no longer demanded anything extra from me."
"Everyone agrees, but that's not really the case."
"Reports of me asking for more pay are lies."
"Like I said, I did everything I could to stay."
"A lot of times, what people see is not the truth."
"Do you have any regrets about being in Barcelona?"
Messi lamented, "I hope to win the Champions League again."
"We were knocked out by Liverpool in the semi-final and that stopped our hopes of winning the Champions League trophy again."
"We had a chance to win the title again, but that's soccer."
