'Judas': Messi accuses Pique of plotting his Barcelona departure

The day Lionel Messi bid a tearful farewell to Barcelona was a heartbreaking moment, not only for the Blaugrana, but for the world of football.

The move was the consequence of a desperate move by the club to clean up its finances and comply with the Financial Fair Play established by FIFA.

At the time, Messi had just won the Copa America with Argentina in 2021 and had told the club that his desire was to stay at Barcelona, with the return of Joan Laporta. However, he had to leave.

Messi had a difficult first year at his new club, PSG, but he is already the figurehead he was expected to be in Paris, winning a league title and finally becoming a world champion at international level in Qatar.

However, this Friday it emerged what happened in the heart of the Catalan club, once the board decided not to retain its top figure and one of those accused of influencing the final decision of the board was another leader of the team, none other than Gerard Pique.

According to Spanish journalist 'Pipi' Estrada, from the programme Salvame, Pique's 'betrayal' caused an unbridgeable rift between the two players, despite the fact that they both played together in the Catalan team from the youth ranks. The reason: Messi found out that Pique had  conspired with the club's top brass to have the Argentine released.

"Without Leo, the issue of Financial Fair Play is settled"

This was the argument of the former Catalan defender, which irritated Messi, who in response left him a message of complaint as he said goodbye to the Catalan team.

"On one occasion, when Messi has to leave Barcelona because of financial problems, that story is influenced by Gerard Pique. Messi goes down to the dressing room to collect his things from the locker and there is a blackboard there. And before he leaves, Messi writes the word 'Judas' in capital letters," said Estrada.

The journalist said that when Gerard Pique went down to the dressing room he read the message: "Pique asked Jordi Alba who had written that: Leo. And who is it for? For you," replied another of the team's leading players.