Former Argentine striker Sergio Aguero revealed that when Barcelona announced Lionel Messi's departure, he thought the Spanish club's social media accounts were hacked.
Messi, who has made 520 appearances for Barcelona, left Camp Nou in 2021 after scoring 474 goals for the club.
The Manchester City legend Aguero had a brief stint with Barcelona, playing four games before retiring from the game following heart problems. One of the reasons for Aguero joining Barcelona in spite of reduced wages was his desire to play with Messi. Both Aguero and Messi have played together for Argentina, but Aguero wanted to be Messi's teammate at club level too.
It was only a month after Aguero had signed with Barcelona that he got the shocking news that the Spanish club was losing Messi as a free agent after his contract couldn't be extended due to the financial issues that Barcelona were entangled in.
"When Barcelona announced Messi's departure, I thought someone had hacked Barca's social networks. I thought it was a joke," Aguero told El Chiringuito TV.
In August 2021, Messi signed a two-year deal until 2023 with the French club Paris Saint-Germain. He made his debut for PSG, coming on as a substitute in the second-half of a 2-0 away win over Reims in Ligue 1. Messi has played 26 matches for PSG and scored 6 goals so far for the French club.
Paris Saint-Germain topped the 2021-22 Ligue 1 table and qualified for the Champions League group stage where they were eliminated at the hands of eventual champions Real Madrid.