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3) Antoine Griezmann can finally be allowed to shine
Due to Lionel Messi's talents, other players have oftentimes not been able to showcase their own abilities at Barcelona. This has been the case with players such as Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Neymar in the past, who were world class players in their own right, but had to take a backseat to accommodate Messi's sheer brilliance.
This has, to an extent, been the case for Antoine Griezmann during his tenure at Barcelona. The French superstar is regarded as one of the best players in the world and has shown his quality time and time again for the national team. However, at club level, the forward has had to play second-fiddle to Lionel Messi.
The Argentine's departure could finally allow Griezmann to take his game to the next level at Barcelona. Moreso, with the arrival of Sergio Aguero and Memphis Depay, Barcelona have players who could help alleviate the loss of Lionel Messi's incredible goal contributions and help support the Frenchman in leading the club back to the top.
However, it remains to be seen whether Barcelona will decide to stick with the Frenchman or let him leave the club this summer.
4) Barcelona can focus on developing their youth
Ronald Koeman showed last season that he was not afraid to give youth players a chance in the first team. Barcelona's famous academy, La Masia, has produced the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets in the past and it looks like this generation of players are also set to be superstars in the future.
Koeman gave the likes of Pedri, Ansu Fati, Riqui Puig, Oscar Mingueza and Ilaix Moriba a platform to showcase their abilities last season, and the youngsters wasted no time in showing announcing themselves to the world. Pedri and Ansu Fati in particular seem like they are going to be amongst the world's best in the near future. The Spaniards' performances have already seen them become full-fledged internationals, with Pedri representing Spain at Euro 2020 and at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Lionel Messi's departure will allow Ronald Koeman to give more opportunities to his youngsters and help set the foundation for Barcelona to build upon for many years to come.
5) Lionel Messi's situation will teach Barcelona a lesson
Although there will never be another player like Lionel Messi, Barcelona will now know that they can never get into this type of situation with a player's contract again.
The Blaugrana were reportedly paying Messi €515,000 per week with massive added bonuses, which made him the highest paid player in the world, and deservedly so. However, with how things unfolded, Barcelona have come out looking financially inept when it comes to handling their players' contracts.
The club are believed to have accumulated over €1 billion in debt, and a large chunk of that was to accommodate Lionel Messi's massive contract. This situation should hopefully make them rethink their payment structure and how they approach contract negotiations in the future.
All said and done, Lionel Messi deserved every penny he made over his illustrious tenure at Barcelona, but his departure will benefit the club in more ways than one.
