Barcelona Fans Pay Emotional Tribute to Club Legend Lionel Messi During Win Over Real Sociedad
- Lionel Messi’s exit remains unimaginable for Barcelona fans as they paid an emotional tribute to the Argentine who has joined PSG
- During their La Liga opener against Real Sociedad, fans at Camp Nou gave rousing applause for the legend in the 10th minute
- They raised shirts of their former captain, clapping and chanting his name, while others raised banners thanking the superstar
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Briefly News on your News Feed!
Barcelona began their post-Lionel Messi era with an impressive 4-2 victory over Real Sociedad to kick-start their 2021-22 La Liga season on a winning note, Marca reports.
After being away for more than 17 months due to the impact of the pandemic, Barcelona fans were allowed into the Camp Nou, but only 20,384 were allowed.
The number of fans made emotional tribute to Messi in the 10th minute of the encounter making their feelings known.
Source: Getty Images
Many of them raised Messi shirts and chanted his name, while there were several other banners expressing gratitude to the club legend.
PAY ATTENTION: Never miss breaking news – join Briefly News' Telegram channel!
However, Joan Laporta and his predecessor Josep Maria Bartomeu were blasted for overseeing this historic exit as fans condemn the pair.
"Barca yes, Laporta no" and "Laporta, slave of the enemy" were among the messages on those banners.
Just before kick-off of the game vs Sociedad, players' names were read out and Gerard Pique received tremendous applause from the stands having agreed to a pay cut to allow the club to register Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia.
Daily Post reports that the Catalan giants began their quest to reclaim the La Liga title defeating Real Sociedad 4-2 as Gerard Pique opened the scoring in the 19th minute, heading home Memphis Depay’s free-kick.
Martin Braithwaite who was impressive in the encounter grabbed a brace in either side of the halves.
The visitors pulled one back in the 82nd minute when Julen Lobete scored, with Mikel Oyarzabal scoring three minutes later to cut Barca’s lead to one.
Sergio Roberto however secured the points with a late goal.
Briefly News earlier reported that PSG star Di Maria believes new club teammates Lionel Messi is from another planet as he claims the French Giants are lucky to have his fellow Argentine in their team.
Speaking to Argentine TV channel TyC Sports and sighted on Sport Bible, Di Maria praised PSG's decision to sign Messi after Barcelona were unable to hand him a new deal due to La Liga's financial rules.
Di Maria also couldn't resist throwing a brutal bit of shade at Ronaldo as he claimed the Juventus star would love to be at PSG but glad that the club went for Messi instead.
Source: Briefly News
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.
Thando Mpembe Thando Mpembe is a sports journalist who has a passion for all things entertainment. In her spare time, Thando enjoys reading and spending time with family. She is an advocate for mental health and believes that a healthy body starts with a healthy mind. Thando holds an Honours Degree in Journalism from the University of Johannesburg. Her favourite quote is "Gentle reminder - you are not for everyone and that is a blessing". Email: thando.mpembe@briefly.co.za
