Lionel Messi reacts after Barcelona women win back-to-back Champions League trophies
Lionel Messi reacted on social media as Barcelona Femeni won the Champions League for the second time in a row on Saturday, May 25. The Blaugrana women have shown, once again, that they are easily the best women's team in Europe. The beat Lyon in the final, thanks to two goals from Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas.
It was a game of possessive domination (64%) for the Spanish giants as they kept their opponents from seeing the ball regularly at San Mames. Both sides had a similar number of chances on goal, with Barca taking 14 shots and Lyon taking 13. However, the Spaniards were the more clinical side, as they put two goals into the net in the second half to seal the win.
Lionel Messi, who is arguably Barcelona's biggest-ever legend, took to Instagram Stories to react, congratulating Femeni for an impressive win:
Lyon Women have easily been the better team across the last two decades, as they've won the UEFA Women's Cup and UEFA Women's Champions League eight times. They have also reached 11 finals of the competitions. They are followed by Eintracht Frankfurt, who have won four trophies, while Barca have won three, with two coming consecutively.
Barcelona slammed for their treatment of club legends, including Lionel Messi
Sevilla manager Quique Sanchez Flores has criticized Barcelona for how they have handled the respective exits of club legends like Messi, and more recently, Xavi. This comes after Xavi was decidedly sacked only a month after the club announced that he would complete his contract at Camp Nou.
However, the former midfielder will take on Sevilla in his final game as Barca boss on May 26 before leaving the club. Sanchez Flores spoke ahead of their La Liga clash, slamming the Catalan giants (via Barca Blaugranes):
“I shouldn’t say this, but how badly Barcelona treats its legends. What a bad streak. With Koeman, with Messi, with Xavi now, how bad. I wish clubs treated their legends well. That would be fantastic. That is a legacy of connection from the managers to the fans. This connects a lot, treating legends well.
“Xavi is a legend of the club. He won the league last season and football has a short memory. He was questioned this year from the first minute. I have doubts that the criticism about him is correct. Xavi has experienced many things as a player and has done a good job as a coach. I’ll give him a huge hug, we’ll talk.”
Barcelona's U-turn on Xavi comes after the legendary midfielder questioned the club's financial ability to compete in the transfer market.
In 2021, the club were financially unable to renew Lionel Messi's contract on time, which saw the Argentine legend leave the club on a free transfer.