In case you didn’t know…
FC Barcelona hold huge cultural and emotional significance to the people of Catalonia, and as perhaps Barcelona’s greatest ever player, Messi has captured the hearts and minds of the region’s people, winning an astonishing 34 titles with the Blaugrana including 4 Champions League titles and accomplishing unsurpassable feats like a sextuple of title wins in 2009-10.
He has had yet another otherworldly season this year, scoring 48 goals and providing 16 assists in all competitions and led Barcelona to their 8th La Liga title in the last 11 years. Messi currently leads the roost in the European Golden Shoe, UEFA Champions League and La Liga Top Scorer charts.
The heart of the matter
The Generalitat de Catalunya explained their reasoning behind awarding Messi with the honour,
They also stressed on the various charitable initiatives the Argentine talisman had partaken in as part of the Lionel Messi foundation.
Messi became the second FC Barcelona player to win the award, with the legendary Johan Cruyff having been bestowed with the same accolade in 2006. The Creu de Sant Jordi is the second highest civilian distinction awarded by the Catalonian government, only behind the Gold Medal of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
What’s next?
It remains to be seen if Messi features in Barcelona’s final LaLiga game of the season against Eibar on Sunday. Valverde will want to conserve his star man’s energy for the Copa del Rey final versus Valencia on 26th May.
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