Marques Bids Emotional Farewell to Barça After 12 Years

Marques has drawn a firm line under his Barcelona story, saying goodbye to the club he joined as a child with a raw, emotional message that underlined just how much Camp Nou has shaped his life.

The midfielder, who arrived at Barça at the age of eight and eventually broke into the first team, took to Instagram to announce his departure and to thank almost everyone who has crossed his path in the last dozen years.

“After 12 years, the time has come to say goodbye to the club that has watched me grow up since I was eight,” he wrote, opening a long, heartfelt letter that read as much like a diary entry as a statement.

He spoke of a journey where “every season, every training session, every match, every trip, every victory” had been worth it, before turning to the darker side of elite football: “the toughest moments, the injuries, and the times filled with doubt and suffering.”

Those setbacks, he said, shaped him just as much as the trophies and the breakthroughs. “All of them taught me valuable lessons and helped me get to where I am today. I leave with the peace of mind of having given my all,” he continued, stressing that he walks away with the feeling of having fulfilled the dream he chased for so long – a debut with the Barça first team.

That landmark finally arrived against Mallorca in February 2026, a moment he described as the realisation of something he “never imagined” possible when he first walked through the doors as a boy. From there, the tone of his message moved between gratitude and nostalgia as he recalled “unforgettable, unique moments” he will carry with him forever.

He did not limit his thanks to the pitch. Marques name-checked the entire ecosystem around him: “all the coaches, team-mates (many of whom have become great friends), physios, doctors, staff members, and everyone who has been by my side over these past 12 years.” Each one, he said, helped to shape both the footballer and the person he has become.

The message then widened to those closest to him. He reserved special appreciation for his parents, sisters, partner and friends, crediting them with supporting him “unconditionally” and helping to turn a childhood dream into reality. Across the post, one line captured his sense of belonging: “I have worn this badge on my chest with great pride all these years, and I always will.”

Behind the gratitude, there was also pain. Marques did not hide how hard the decision – and the manner of it – has been. “I won't deny that it hurts to leave,” he admitted. “The way this moment has arrived was unexpected, and it is not how I had imagined saying goodbye to the club of my life.”

That honesty gave his farewell a sharper edge. Yet he framed his exit as an act of love and growth, describing it as a necessary step for his development while insisting he respects the choices made around him. “If I am doing this, it is because I truly love this club; over these 12 years, I have also learned to understand and respect the decisions that have been made along the way,” he wrote, making clear there is no bitterness in his departure.

He closed with a final tribute that read like a curtain call on his Barça years: “Barça has given me everything. Thank you for these 12 years. Thank you for helping me grow, for teaching me, for challenging me, and for allowing me to live a dream - at the club of my life - that I will remember forever. Long live Barca, always.”

A boy who walked into La Masia at eight leaves as a first-team graduate. The badge will no longer be on his chest every weekend, but by his own words, it is not going anywhere from his identity.