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On April 10, 2024, Lionel Messi's former club, Barcelona bagged a 3-2 away victory over Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the first leg of the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
The match took place at the Ligue 1 club's home ground Parc des Princes, where Barca winger Raphinha opened the scoring in the 37th minute. Ousmane Dembélé equalized for the home side in the 48th minute, followed by Vitinha scoring the lead just two minutes later. Barca's equalizer came with Raphinha's second goal of the match in the 62nd minute, while Andreas Christensen netted the winner in the 77th minute.
Following their victory, Barcelona legend Lionel Messi reportedly congratulated some of his former teammates (via El Nacional). The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner's current teammates, who were also there during his time with Barcelona, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, and Luis Suárez were also reportedly elated by their former club's victory.
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In the recent past, Barcelona did not have a good run in the UEFA Champions League. The last time they made it to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League was in 2019-2020 where they faced a humiliating 8-2 loss against Bayern Munich. In 2020-2021, Lionel Messi's last season at Barcelona before leaving for PSG, the Catalans made it to the round of 16, while in the next two seasons, they did not reach further than the group stage.
Barcelona's upcoming plans to honor Lionel Messi
The La Liga giants continue to plan a grand gesture to honor their best player in the club's history, Lionel Messi for all his contributions. In July 2021, the Argentine icon became a free agent following the expiry of his contract with the club and a new one could not reached due to the club's financial issues and regulations of the league.
Barcelona reportedly plan on honoring the club legend following the completion of the ongoing renovation of Camp Nou. There can be an emotional match that would include former Catalans and the Argentina national team.
As per some rumors, a statue of Messi might also be added outside the stadium, along with the existing ones of Johan Cruyff and László Kubala.
