The Barcelona superstar certainly hasn’t let success get to his head!
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi (Photo: AFP)
Arda Turan, Javier Mascherano and Rafinha will be departing Barcelona in the ongoing winter transfer window and the trio was in for a pleasant surprise as Lionel Messi penned a heartfelt farewell Instagram post for them.
Messi’s post, post translation, reads: “Arda, best of luck in this new stage in your country. I’m sure you will be great.
Rafinha, I wish you many successes in Italy, we will follow you closely.
And to you, Masche, after so many games and moments together, the words are superfluous. You know I’m going to miss you. It’s going to be weird to get tot the locker room and not see you sitting next to me. But we’re looking at the selection soon.
A big hug for the three of you, I with you all the best.”
Arda Turan arrived at the Nou Camp in 2015 on the back of some excellent performances for fellow La Liga side Atletico Madrid but due to a combination of injuries and poor form, never quite managed to establish himself in La Blaugrana’s lineup.
The 30-year-old Turk joined Istanbul Basaksehir FK on loan in the January window after failing to make a single appearance for Ernesto Valverde’s men. Clearly, Arda rates Messi as the best player in the world for he replied to Messi’s post:
Turan’s post, after translation, reads: “Thank you king”.
Rafinha, brother of Bayern Munich midfielder Thiago Alcantara, also left the Catalan capital on a loan deal as he joined Serie A side Inter Milan earlier this week.
A product of the famed La Masia Academy, the 24-year-old struggled to get regular playing time since making his debut in the 2011-12 season. This season, the central midfielder, who has played for Spain and Brazil both at the youth level, played just once for La Blaugrana and is expected to make a permanent move in the summer.
Last but certainly not the least is Javier Mascherano, who departs Barcelona a club legend after seven-and-a-half trophy laden seasons. He will be joining Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune.
Signed from Liverpool in 2010, the versatile Argentine shone in the heart of the Catalan’s defence against all odds and at his peak, would have walked into any side in the world.
At 33, age had begun to catch up on the South American and after falling down the pecking order in the eyes of Ernesto Valverde, Mascherano was widely expected to make a move elsewhere.
On Wednesday, the hardworking Argentine was given an institutional farewell, where he broke down while addressing a crowd that consisted of several high-ranking club officials and his teammates.
Mascherano’s final game for the club will take place on Thursday when La Blaugrana take on Espanyol in the second leg of their Copa del Rey (King’s Cup) quarter-final at the Nou Camp.
Despite trailing 1-0 from the first leg, Barcelona are heavy favourites to progress to the last-four and the Nou Camp crowd is expected to give popular figure of Mascherano a fitting farewell.
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