BARCELONA (Reuters) -A tearful Lionel Messi confirmed on Sunday he was leaving FC Barcelona after the club said it could no longer afford paying its Argentine talisman's high wages without jeopardising its future.

"I tried to behave with humility and respect and I hope that is what remains of me when I leave the club," an emotional Messi told a news conference as hundreds of fans, many wearing his No. 10 jersey, massed outside Barca's Camp Nou stadium to bid farewell to the player they called Messiah.