2017 has been a roller coaster of a year for Barcelona fans. The year began with their miraculous victory over PSG in the Champions League, as they came from behind to script the greatest comeback in the competition’s history.
But that was as good as it got for Barcelona, as they failed to win a trophy that season, while they watched their arch rivals Real Madrid go ahead and complete the double by winning the league and Champions league.
Then came the shock of losing Neymar in a world record deal, as PSG came in and snatched their hero from Camp Nou. And if that was not bad enough, for the majority of the year, it seemed as if Lionel Messi may leave the club as well as the Argentine did not put pen to paper on his new contract.
ALSO READ : Mo Salah to play in La Liga !?
The failed pursuit of Coutinho also rankled the Catalan fans, as they wondered if their great club was no longer the power that they used to be a couple of years back. But things soon started to change, as Lionel Messi started playing some of the best football of his career and helped propel Barcelona to the top of the league.
The highlight of the year came a few days back, when Messi inspired Barcelona to beat Real Madrid 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu. That win put Barcelona 14 points clear of the defending champions, and effectively put one hand on the league title.
Messi recently spoke about how he does not like swapping shirts at the end of a match, as he prefers to shake hands and leave it at that. As quoted by Spanish language outlet Invictos, Messi said that the only person whose shirt he asked for was Zidane.
“I am not one to ask to swap shirts. I asked, once…I asked Zidane,” he said.
“I don’t ask for shirts. If there is an Argentine, I will swap with an Argentine.
“If not and there is someone else that asks me, I will swap it with them. If not, I do not look and do not ask.”
