Marques' Emotional Farewell After 12 Years at Barça

Marques has drawn the curtain on a 12-year Barcelona story, choosing social media to deliver a raw, heartfelt goodbye to the club that raised him from academy hopeful to first-team midfielder.

The 20-year-old, who joined Barça at the age of eight and finally realised his dream with a senior debut against Mallorca in February 2026, confirmed his departure in a lengthy Instagram message that read more like a love letter than a standard exit statement.

“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, reflecting on a journey that has taken him through every rung of the Barça system. He lingered on the grind behind the dream: “Every season, every training session, every match, every trip, every victory. But I also had to face the other side of things: the toughest moments, the injuries, and the times filled with doubt and suffering.”

Those setbacks, he said, shaped him as much as the triumphs. “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, and with the feeling of having fulfilled a dream I fought for over so many years: making my debut with the Barça first team.”

For a boy who arrived at La Masia as an eight-year-old, stepping onto the pitch in the first-team shirt was the pinnacle. “It is a dream I never imagined I would realize when I first arrived at the age of eight. I have lived through unforgettable, unique moments that I will carry with me forever.”

The message was as much about the people behind the scenes as it was about the badge. Marques reeled off his thanks, making it clear this was a collective story, not a solo act.

“I want to thank 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 of them has played a part in shaping the player and the person I am today.”

He widened the circle again, turning to those who carried him through the darker stretches. “Thanks also to my family – especially my parents and sisters – my partner, and my friends, who have supported and stood by me unconditionally, helping to make this dream a reality. I have worn this badge on my chest with great pride all these years, and I always will.”

The decision to leave, he admitted, cuts deep. This is not a player walking away lightly.

“I won't deny that it hurts to leave,” he confessed. “The way this moment has arrived was unexpected, and it is not how I had imagined saying goodbye to the club of my life.” Yet within that pain, he framed his exit as an act of love and growth, not rebellion. “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.”

For Marques, development now demands a new stage. Leaving Camp Nou, he suggested, is a necessary step, even if it clashes with the childhood script he once wrote in his head. Still, there was no bitterness in his words, only gratitude and a fierce attachment that clearly will not fade with a transfer.

“Barça has given me everything,” he wrote in his closing lines. “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.”

He walks away from Barcelona with just one senior debut to his name, but with a full La Masia education behind him and a clear sense that the next chapter has to be written elsewhere. The badge may leave his chest; it clearly won’t leave his heart.