The gesture of Antonela Roccuzzo: the saving handkerchief to contain the tears of Lionel Messi in his goodbye to Barcelona

08/08/2021 11:30

• Clarín.com

• sports

Updated 08/08/2021 11:30

Even the soul.

This was the farewell of Lionel Messi from the club of all his life, Barcelona.

The Auditori 1899, very close to the Camp Nou, witnessed the moving "goodbye".

There, in front of the press and the cameras, Leo opened his heart like never before in his last performance, this time dressed in a suit, in Barcelona.

And between tears in bulk, thunderous applause and a very heartfelt speech, a small group located in the front row, in front of the lectern where the 10. His family was.

Or part of it: his wife, Antonela Rocuzzo, and their three children: Thiago, Mateo and Ciro.

In the absence of Jorge, father and representative of 10, the family outpost was there, putting up with Messi in one of the hardest moments of his sports career: the farewell to the club of a lifetime.

Lionel Messi wipes his tears with the handkerchief that Antonela, his wife, gave him.

Photo: EFE

A difficult conference

.

Messi himself had to delay a few minutes due to his constant lump in his throat and a previous cry that delayed the presentation.

Therefore, it just started, it did not last long.

It was a handful of words that 10 broke down emotionally.

And there, Antonela quickly approached, dressed in a white jacket, black T-shirt and checked miniskirt, to hand him the handkerchief that was going to accompany him while his speech and subsequent responses to journalists lasted. 

Antonela Roccuzzo, wife of Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi, arrives to attend a press conference by her husband at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on August 8, 2021. - Messi fought back tears as he began a press conference at which he confirmed he is leaving Barcelona, ​​where he has played his entire career.

(Photo by Pau BARRENA / AFP)

On one side of the lectern, several acquaintances of Messi.

Among them,

Joan Laporta

, president of Barcelona, ​​who was in charge on Friday of showing his face and confirming the bomb that had exploded on Thursday through a brief three-paragraph statement.

He was also accompanied by Ronald Koeman, his last coach, and the now ex-teammates.

Among them,

Jordi Alba

who was seen extremely shocked and moved by the departure of Rosario.

The most winner in history.

The legacy that Messi leaves in Barcelona.

Photo: FC Barcelona.

There was room on the premises for old club idols like

Carles Puyol or Xavi Hernández

, Leo's teammates on countless Olympic rounds in the recent past.

Those who could not accompany Messi were Pedri, Oscar Mingueza and Eric García, who returned from Tokyo after having won the Olympic silver against Brazil and missed the final conference.

Near the end of the conference, his own teammates surrounded Messi in his act of farewell.

When he finished his speech he was given a standing ovation and between many hugs they cried with him.

The same thing happened when you answered the last question.

Messi did not want to go

.

He made it clear in his intentions to renegotiate their bond, and in the moving farewell this Sunday.

News that surprised him as soon as he returned from his vacation in Ibiza. 

The financial obstacles of Barcelona and the regulations of the Spanish League, ruined Messi's continuity in the Catalan club.

An unforeseen, sudden end, which Messi himself also made very moving.  

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