I did not want to leave Barcelona - Messi

An emotional Lionel Messi has told that he did not want to leave Barcelona.

According to the six-time Balon d'Or, he was confident a new contract will be signed only to be denied one due to 'financial restrictions.'

The former Barcelona captain refused to deny any move to the French capital but told that regardless of transfer speculation, a move to Paris Saint-Germain is not confirmed.

"That is one possibility, to reach those heights. "I've got nothing confirmed with anybody. I had a lot of calls, a lot of interested clubs. At the moment, nothing is closed, but we are talking about a lot of things," Messi said.

Messi was in tears as he received a standing ovation in his final Barcelona press conference, after 21 years with the club following Barcelona’s confirmation of his departure.

"Despite FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi having reached an agreement and the clear intention of both parties to sign a new contract today, this cannot happen because of financial and structural obstacles (Spanish Liga regulations).

"As a result of this situation, Messi shall not be staying on at FC Barcelona. Both parties deeply regret that the wishes of the player and the club will ultimately not be fulfilled,” the statement said.

The Argentina superstar repeatedly stressed he wanted to stay at Barcelona and was set to sign a new contract. 

Messi confirmed he had agreed to take a 50 percent wage cut during negotiations over a new deal.

"I offered to reduce my salary by 50 percent and they didn't ask me for anything else.

"The news that I'd asked for 30 percent more is a lie. We did everything we could and it wasn't possible.

"A lot of things people are saying aren't true and like I said, I did everything [I could]."