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Ever since Lionel Messi sent a burofax to the Barcelona board informing them of his intention to leave the club, things have just not been the same at the Camp Nou. Sure, they made him stay by virtue of a technicality in his current contract but after eight games in the La Liga, it doesn't look like it's working out for the player or the club.
Messi sounded resigned to the drama around him and very recently said that he is tired of being viewed as the 'problem' at Barcelona following recent comments from Antoine Griezmann's camp. He is the highest earner at Barcelona and as he is 33-years-old, his next destination choices are limited.
We believe that it is time for Lionel Messi and Barcelona to part ways and here we take a look at five reasons why it's time for him to leave.
#5 For Lionel Messi to keep his legacy from getting tarnished
Loyalty is looked at differently in modern day football. One-club footballers are a rarity. As such, it is particularly special that one of the greatest players of all time, Lionel Messi, has chosen to spend his entire career so far at Barcelona.
Messi has won six Ballon d'Ors, 10 La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League titles, six Copa Del Reys among various other trophies. He will go down in history as a legend of the game and one of the most influential personalities if not the most influential one at Barcelona.
However, the fallout from the internal combustion at the club has definitely hit Lionel Messi as well and it is not fitting for a player who has contributed so greatly to the club to have his legacy tarnished owing to a number of internal issues.
As such, it's best that Messi leaves now before things get uglier and it feels like his presence is not as welcome anymore at the Camp Nou.
#4 Barcelona are in transition
This point has several aspects to it. On the footballing side of things, Barcelona are now with a new manager who is someone that the club wants to stay for the long-term and is likely to be entrusted with the job of revitalising the club.
When you look at the grand scheme of things, you'll realize that it's now time for Barcelona to stop building the team around Lionel Messi as the Argentine legend is now 33-years-old and sooner or later, he will call it quits. The club shouldn't have to go into yet another transition phase upon his retirement.
On the management side of things, following the resignation of Josep Maria Bartomeu and his board of directors, Barcelona are going to go through a sea change now. As such, they are going to hit a few lows and it'll be kind of sad if Messi does not get to bid goodbye to the game on a high.
#3 Opportunity to prove he can thrive in any other league
Honestly, this shouldn't even be an argument. We have seen Lionel Messi take the best teams in Europe to the cleaners and it's demeaning to suggest that he won't be able to replicate these levels in any other league in the world.
Messi has been world-class throughout his career and his four UEFA Champions League titles should be proof enough. His greatest rival Cristiano Ronaldo has challenged Lionel Messi to take on new challenges and prove to the world that he can do it anywhere.
Ronaldo has played and been successful in Portugal with Sporting Lisbon, in England with Manchester United, in Spain with Real Madrid and now in Italy with Juventus. There is no reason why Messi won't be able to do that and he should just go ahead and take this challenge head on.
#2 Messi can cement his reputation as the GOAT
This is actually an extension of the previous point. The argument that Messi detractors offer in the GOAT debate when he's pitted against the greatest players to have ever graced the game is that Lionel Messi has never broken out of his comfort zone.
That he rose through the ranks at Barcelona and that he is only so good because he has had everybody catering to him and has had exceptional players who understand him entirely playing alongside him and that it is the environment that has enabled him to appear so great.
We'd all like to know how he fares in a new environment where everything's not tailormade for him to flourish.
#1 To reinvent his career
Lionel Messi has been nowhere near his best this season and it doesn't look like he enjoys playing with a lot of his teammates. He seems disinterested at times and it looks like his heart is not at Barcelona anymore. Most of Lionel Messi's favourite teammates have either left or retired.
A new club will give him a fresh sense of purpose and force him to introspect and bring out the player that we have spent so many nights just watching in awe. New challenges will get Messi to reinvent himself and maybe even learn new things about himself although he is walking into the twilight of his career.
When a player been at one club for so long and he gets too comfortable, there are several trappings that they could fall into and by the looks of it, the current predicament that Barcelona and Messi find themselves in is not helping either party and it's high time that both parted ways.
