An emotional Lionel Messi has revealed how he informed his sons and wife that he wanted to leave FC Barcelona and how they reacted to the news.
Click through the images above to see images of Messi's sons.
The Argentine confirmed that he will be staying with the Blaugrana, because he doesn not want to take the club to court.
In an emotional interview with Goal, the 33-year-old said his whole family was moved to tears when informed them about his decision of wanting to leave.
"When I communicated my wish to leave to my wife and children, it was a brutal drama," Messi explained.
"The whole family began crying, my children did not want to leave Barcelona, nor did they want to change schools.
"But I looked further afield and I want to compete at the highest level, win titles, compete in the Champions League. You can win or lose in it, because it is very difficult, but you have to compete.
"At least compete for it and let us not fall apart in Rome, Liverpool, Lisbon. All that led me to think about that decision that I wanted to carry out."
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The Argentine also explained how his older son Thiago heard about the rumours in the news and how hard it was to explain the whole situation.
"Mateo is still little and he doesn't realise what it means to go somewhere else and make your life a few years elsewhere," he added.
"Thiago, he is older. He heard something on TV and found out something and asked.
"I didn't want him to know anything about being forced to leave, to have to live in a new school, or make new friends.
"He cried to me and said 'let's not go'. I repeat that it was hard, really.
"It was understandable. It happened to me. It is very difficult to make a decision.
"I love Barcelona and I'm not going to find a better place than here anywhere. Still, I have the right to decide. I was going to look for new goals and new challenges. And tomorrow I could go back, because here in Barcelona I have everything."
Check out some fathers and sons who played in the same football match below:
