Leo Messi bid farewell to FC Barcelona in the summer of 2021 after playing 778 matches in which he scored 672 goals, as well as providing 303 assists that allowed the club to lift 35 titles in 17 seasons. However, the culé fans could not say goodbye to their greatest idol as he deserved, due to health restrictions during the covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, 'The Flea' shared one last moment with the Camp Nou crowd on March 7, 2020, exactly five years ago.

It was a Saturday at 18:30, during matchday 27 of LaLiga 2019/20, when the team then managed by Quique Setién won narrowly (1-0) thanks to a penalty goal scored by Leo in the 81st minute, after a handball inside the area by Robin Le Normand. The victory allowed Barça to regain the lead with 58 points and, after Real Madrid's loss on Sunday against Betis (2-1), the Catalans went into the pandemic break as leaders with a two-point advantage.

Leo Messi was able to celebrate in his last match with fans at Camp Nou

A week later, Pedro Sánchez ordered the lockdown due to the first wave of covid-19. LaLiga was suspended for three months, until the competition resumed on June 11 with matches every day, without fans in the stadiums. In the end, Madrid took the title with 87 points, five more than the azulgrana team. Messi was the top scorer with 25 goals in a tournament that ended on July 17, 2020.

For Messi and the azulgrana fans, that goal against Real Sociedad marked the last celebration in a packed Camp Nou. No one could anticipate what would happen in the following months. The pandemic shattered the sports project led by Josep Maria Bartomeu, unleashing a sharp financial crisis from which the club has yet to fully recover. Leo would continue his legendary career at Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami, winning everything with the Argentine national team.

⚽This is how Barça lined up in Messi's last match with fans at Camp Nou:

  • Ter Stegen; Semedo, Piqué, Lenglet, Alba; Busquets, De Jong, Rakitic (min. 74, Vidal); Messi, Griezmann (min. 85, Ansu) and Braithwaite (min. 90, Junior Firpo).

 ⚽Leo Messi's statistics with FC Barcelona:

Official matches Goals Assists Yellow cards Red cards Championships Minutes played
778 672 303 81 1 35 63.513