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Lionel Messi is undoubtedly one of the greatest players of all time. But could this summer be the one that sees the Argentine wizard finally leave Barcelona?
Lionel Messi leaving Barcelona is definitely a possibility, given his contract is due to expire this summer. But could he still remain at the Camp Nou instead?
There’s a distinct possibility that Lionel Messi will remain a Barcelona player – and here are five reasons why.
#1 New Barcelona president Joan Laporta wants him to stay
It’s undoubtedly true that Barcelona have been in disarray in recent weeks.
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The Catalan giants are still chasing another La Liga title and currently sit in second. But they’re on the verge of crashing out of the Champions League to Paris St. Germain.
Off the pitch, meanwhile, the club appears to be chaotic. Just last week, a number of senior figures – including former club president Josep Maria Bartomeu – were arrested over financial issues.
These issues reportedly related to a 2020 scandal that supposedly saw Barcelona hire a firm to attack their own players on social media.
However, better days may be around the corner for Barcelona. It was announced this weekend that Joan Laporta has won the club’s presidential election, returning to the role he filled between 2003 and 2010.
That period was, of course, Barcelona’s most successful in the modern era – and key to that was Lionel Messi.
It’s unsurprising, then, that Laporta has already stated that his top priority now is keeping the Argentine at the Nou Camp.
The new president was quoted as stating, “The best player in the world loves Barca, and I hope that is a sign that he will stay at Barcelona, which is what we all want.”
Laporta’s attitude seems to be a marked step away from the attitude of Bartomeu – who faced a mutiny last summer when Lionel Messi was close to leaving the club.
And if the new president – who does have an existing relationship with Lionel Messi from his previous time in charge – decides he wants to keep the Argentine at the club, then there’s definitely a chance he gets his way.
#2 It’s doubtful that a rival club will afford Lionel Messi
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous clubs across the world would likely have been able to afford Lionel Messi and the insanely expensive contract he’d likely demand.
However, when the past year's events are taken into account, it seems doubtful that any of Europe’s giants will be able to pay the kind of money that Messi might demand.
According to most sources, Lionel Messi is on a contract worth around £500k per week, making him the highest-paid footballer in the world.
And if Messi were to leave Barcelona this summer, it’d be on a free transfer following the expiration of his current deal. That means not only would he be likely to demand a similar wage, but he’d also command a massive signing-on fee.
It’s true that any potential suitors wouldn’t need to pay Barcelona a transfer fee. But that money would almost be certainly offset by the contract needed to entice Messi into a move.
And with clubs all over the world looking to tighten their belts following the pandemic – even giants like Manchester United and Juventus – then it’s definitely possible that nobody would be able to afford Messi anyway. This would lead him to cut a new deal with Barcelona.
#3 Messi’s non-pressing style may not suit another club
Lionel Messi is undoubtedly one of the greatest footballers of all time. But is he now past his prime? It’s a question worth exploring.
On the surface of it, the answer is definitely no.
Thus far into the 2020-21 campaign, he’s made 24 appearances in La Liga as well as five in the Champions League and four in the Copa del Rey.
And he’s scored a frankly brilliant 24 goals and registered eight assists - a level comparable with any other player in the world.
However, the best teams in the world – the likes of Manchester City, Bayern Munich, and Liverpool – now use a style that heavily relies on pressing the opposition.
So is Messi compatible with that style of play? There’s some evidence that suggests that he isn’t.
For instance, in 2009-10, the season saw Messi score 47 goals as Barcelona won four trophies. The Argentine averaged 2.1 tackles and interceptions per league game.
His average in the same area this season? 0.7 – meaning he’s dipped by more than half over the past decade when it comes to pressing.
It’s understandable. After all, Messi is now 33 years old, and at the end of the day, it isn’t his job to chase the opposition – it’s his job to score and create goals.
But would one of Europe’s heavy-pressing teams see it that way? Probably not. For, say, Manchester City, signing Messi would mean potentially changing the team’s entire style.
And with that in mind, the conclusion they may well reach is that it simply wouldn’t be worth the hassle.
#4 Messi may want to help Barcelona climb back to the top
While the demise of Barcelona is probably overstated right now – they’re still second in La Liga after all – it’s definitely true that they’re no longer Europe’s dominant force.
In fact, the Catalan giants haven’t won the Champions League – a trophy that was once synonymous with the club – since the 2045-15 season.
There are a number of reasons for this.
The players that made Barcelona such a great team a decade ago have either retired, left the club, or fossilized while remaining at the Nou Camp. Only Lionel Messi is really close to the player he once was back then.
They’ve splashed out millions in an attempt to refresh the squad. However, most of those big-money signings – names like Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele and Antoine Griezmann – have failed to set the world alight at the Nou Camp.
It’s pretty clear that to rise back to the top, Barcelona need to not only refresh their squad again but refresh their whole strategy too.
Many fans would suggest that part of that reset should involve Messi departing.
However, if the Argentine is still capable of performing at such a high level, why would the club want to force him out?
And more to the point, wouldn’t Messi – who has been with Barca since he was a teenager - want to stay to help with the rebuild?
Surely it’d be smarter for all parties to keep Messi around as the remaining link back to that great side – while also helping to build the careers of young talents like Pedri, Francisco Trincao, and Ansu Fati.
If he could do that, then Messi would literally be recognized as the greatest Barcelona legend of all time – meaning it’s a no-brainer for him to stick around at the Nou Camp.
#5 His family are settled in Barcelona
If Lionel Messi is to leave Barcelona, the likelihood is that it’ll be his own choice. The club isn’t likely to force him out, particularly now that Joan Laporta is again the club’s president.
So if he were to choose to move on, not only would Messi have to consider the fact that he’d be leaving a club he’s been with since his teenage years – he’d also have to come to terms with uprooting his family too.
Messi does spend plenty of time back in his Argentine hometown of Rosario with his extended family. But for the most part, he lives in Barcelona with his partner Antonella Roccuzzo and their three children.
And Messi’s family don’t exactly live in any old house, too. According to reports, the Argentine owns a huge, luxury mansion in the suburb of Castelldefels.
The mansion contains a football pitch, an indoor gym, a swimming pool, and overlooks the Balearic Sea.
And reportedly, the mansion sits in a no-fly area, meaning no airplanes can pass over the area.
So given that he’s settled in such a beautiful area of one of the most beautiful cities in the world – and has three young children who’ve grown up in the city – why would Messi want to uproot all of them to move elsewhere?
Sure, he could move to another club and leave his family in Barcelona, returning to them when possible. But particularly in a post-COVID-19 world, where travel may not be so easy, it might not be a choice Messi is comfortable with.
And so, with that in mind, it seems highly likely that the Argentine won’t want to move his family, and in turn, won’t want to depart the Nou Camp this summer.
