Lionel Messi bids emotional farewell to Neymar ahead of world record £198million move from Barcelona to PSG

LIONEL MESSI has bid an emotional farewell to departing Barcelona superstar Neymar.

The Brazilian will be leaving the Nou Camp for a world record £196MILLION, ending a summer-long saga.

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Instagram/Lionel Messi

Part of the reason Neymar wants to leave is to step out of Messi’s shadow.

But the five-time Ballon d’Or winner proved there are no hard feelings between the pair as he posted an emotional thank you message to his former strike partner.

Messi, who won two La Liga titles, two Copa del Reys and the Champions League with Neymar, wrote: “It was an enormous pleasure sharing these years with you, my friend.

“I wish you all the happiness in this next phase of your life. I’ll see you soon.”

And Neymar replied: “Thank you brother. I will miss you uncle.”

A video showed a montage of the two players, celebrating alongside each other and lifting numerous trophies.

Instagram

But that fabled MSN strike force – complete with ex-Liverpool striker Luis Suarez – has now been broken up for good.

And the most expensive transfer in history has not come about not without its hitches.

Neymar was involved in a bust-up with angry Barcelona fans in the car park of an exclusive night club.

He had to be held back by security as he rowed with fans on July 22 – the night before the Nou Camp side travelled to the US for their pre-season tour.

That came before incredible photographs showed Neymar clash with new signing Nelson Semedo during a training session in Miami.

Neymar’s transfer is yet to be officially confirmed by the Ligue 1 side but advertising bearing his image is already being pulled down in Barcelona.

Keep up to date with all the latest news, gossip, rumours and done deals in SunSport’s live transfer blog