Barcelona have won the UEFA Women’s Champions League for the second straight season, a feat that even Lionel Messi celebrated. The Argentine maestro took to Instagram to congratulate his former club.
“Congratulations, champions!,” Messi wrote in Spanish as he shared a picture of Barca women’s team lifting the trophy after beating Olympique Lyon 2-0 in the grand final at San Mames on Saturday.
Messi, who will turn 37 on June 24th, is the most successful player in Barcelona history with 35 titles. Barca Femeni star Alexia Putellas is closing in on that record, as the Women’s Champions League was her 30th success at the club.
Putellas, 30, has plenty of time to chase Messi’s mark as she has recently agreed on a two-year contract extension to stay in Barcelona until 2026. Leo, on the other hand, had to leave the club overnight in the summer of 2021.
Remembering Messi’s surprise exit from Barcelona and his next steps
Messi joined Barcelona as a 13-year-old wonderkid from Argentine side Newell’s Old Boys and eventually became arguably the most impactful player of all time at the Camp Nou.
Having made it all the way from La Masia to the first team, the 8x Ballon d’Or winner left an indelible mark in Catalonia between 2004 and 2021, when he left the club in a shocking turn of events as Barca were unable to register him due to LaLiga salary cap rules.
Messi went on to join PSG as a free agent, spending two years in the French capital before taking his talents to Major League Soccer, where he currently shines for Inter Miami. Of course, he enjoyed plenty of international success in between, succeeding both on the continental and the global stage with Argentina.
Even though Messi’s departure from Barcelona was painful and it happened on short notice, Leo’s reaction to the women’s team’s recent success proves he’s still deeply connected with the club, even from another continent.
