FC Barcelona fans, it's time to bid adieu to Lionel Messi

Irked at falling behind the ever-improving Ronaldo?

Lionel Messi is one of the greatest players of all time, but he is surely not greater than his club. As a matter of fact, no manager or a person is greater than a club.

The recent developments have surprised me. The club and all its members, who were like a family, are now involved in a feud in which Messi is at the center, orchestrating everything according to his whims and wishes.

Messi is unhappy

When Pep Guardiola was managing the club, Barcelona was winning everything. Messi was finding the back of the net regularly. With his performances reaching new levels each day, Messi was also able to nail down Cristiano Ronaldo to play the second fiddle.

But everything has changed since the departure of Guardiola. Real Madrid dominated Barcelona in the year of Tito Vilanova, even though they could not win the league. Under Carlo Ancelotti, the Los Blancos have managed to run Barcelona ragged. To be simple, Real Madrid is on the rise. So is Ronaldo. While, Barcelona is digging its own grave, Real Madrid is being resurrected back from the dead.

Now what has this got to do with Messi’s situation at Barcelona? From the last 18 months or so, Messi has not performed to the level of Ronaldo. While Real Madrid’s talisman has been pacing away from the Argentine by winning most of the individual awards, Messi has been able to do nothing to close down the gap which is enlarging day by day. So isn’t it obvious? Messi is not happy.

The future is uncertain for the Argentine

His fame is being day robbed by Ronaldo. Messi, now thinks that his hands and legs are tightly tied by the inability of the successors of Guardiola to adopt to Barcelona’s philosophy and develop the right tactics.

Messi is coy over his Barcelona future and is angry at the Barcelona board for not signing the right players and coaches. He has the right to be. But it is not ethical to express his feelings about the coach or the board in the open.

Messi, who was once the inspiring angel of the dressing room, has now transformed into the devil with the pitchfork and sending out waves of disturbances and dissatisfactions. Imagine how the media and the fans would have reacted if it was Ronaldo in Messi’s place. By now, he would have become the focal point of the scorns of everybody.

According to the press, Messi is angry on Luis Enrique, because the former Roma coach rested Messi against Real Sociedad a week ago. Messi, then picked up a fight with Enrique after the conclusion of training. The day after this incident, Messi skipped an open training session stating medical reasons.

Messi’s anger is unjustified

The point to be noted, is, Enrique benched Neymar, Gerard Pique, and Dani Alves and not just Messi. When all of them, even though not impressed by the methodologies of their manager, kept their mouths shut, it was Messi who was getting irritated from the inside. Messi had rarely shown his other side, his angry side, to the media. His anger was building up. The time was right for him, at least that was what Messi thought and emptied a barrel full of anger on Lucho.

Moreover, this can be seen as an effort by Messi to move away from Ronaldo. Playing in the same league means all the actions of both the stars will be observed closely and compared. Messi never felt the need to get out of such atmosphere all these years. Ronaldo’s rise back to the top has irked the little master from Rosario.

Messi is seeking a move away from Barcelona. Following Chelsea FC and few of its players is only a gimmick to add more weight to his actions. If Messi wanted Enrique to be sacked, he would have somehow approached the board. But since Messi did not make any such attempts, his intentions are very clear.

Johan Cryuff is lauded by many due his on-field performances. Off the field, he was always the epicenter of controversies. Messi is involved in a tax-evasion case. This rift might prove to be another black dot on his glittering career. Messi’s persona is inclining more towards that of Cryuff’s. If Messi‘s records and skills are considered as a white sheet of canvas, then his chase of personal glory will leave him with a big blot on it, formed by numerous black dots, when he hangs up his boots.

Messi is the cancer in the team and luckily for Barcelona, the cancer has been spotted at an early stage. It is the correct time for them to offload him.

Youngsters and other players in the squad are acting dumb in front of the press. But they are not blind. They are watching Messi’s off-field game. When the time is right, they will also start moving the pawns. But such disasters can be prevented now, by selling Messi. Not just that, it will be a warning to every player out there, no matter which sport, who tries to put his interests before the team’s.