"Every 3-4 days he would tell me" - Sergio Aguero claims Lionel Messi was confident his contract was renewed at Barcelona before shock exit 

Former Manchester City superstar Sergio Aguero has claimed that Lionel Messi was confident about his Barcelona renewal, revealing that he regularly wanted to click a picture with his Barca shirt.

After 17 trophy-laden years at Barcelona, Lionel Messi shockingly left the club as a free agent in the summer of 2021. It was widely believed that the Blaugrana would extend their skipper’s stay in due time, despite their financial woes. The renewal, however, did not come, leading to a tearful Camp Nou exit for Messi. Days after Messi’s exit, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) swooped in and made him their newest signing.

Messi’s compatriot Aguero has claimed that La Pulga was very much confident about signing a contract extension. He further revealed that Messi had a Barca jersey in his room and regularly expressed his desire to be photographed with it. Aguero said on El Chiringuito TV (via Roy Nemer):

“We were at the Copa America and he had the Barca shirt in his room. And every 3-4 days he would tell me "I think my contract is renewed, let's take a picture with the Barcelona shirt.”

Before his shocking exit, Lionel Messi took part in 778 games for the Blaugrana across competitions, scoring 672 goals and claiming 303 assists. No player in the history of the sport has scored more goals for a single club.

The 2021 Copa America winner won 10 La Liga titles, four Champions League trophies, and seven Copas del Rey during his time in Catalonia, amongst other honors.

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Barcelona are yet to find a replacement for Lionel Messi

From Robert Lewandowski to Raphinha, Xavi’s Barca have some stunning attackers at their disposal. However, none of them have proven to be even nearly as effective as Lionel Messi.

Lewandowski has produced goals, of course, scoring 12 times in 11 La Liga games to emerge as the division’s leading scorer. But the Pole does not bring much to the table apart from goals.

Messi, at Barcelona, was a complete player. He scored goals for fun, created goalscoring chances out of thin air, and led from the front when the odds were against his team.

With him running the show, Barca never had to think twice about qualifying for the Champions League knockout stages. Without him, they stand on the brink of their second consecutive Champions League group stage exit.