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Every Barcelona fan's nightmare has come true. Lionel Messi wants to exit the only club he has played for.
Barcelona has been Messi's home since he was 14. It's the place he calls his second home - the place that has made him a living legend and where his poster is in every child's room.
Many of Barcelona's former players did not think Lionel Messi could leave the club. Samuel Eto'o said that Barcelona may have to change their name if Lionel Messi left, suggesting that the diminutive Argentinian is Barcelona and everything that defines it. However, that is far from the truth.
While winning one Champions League and 16 La Liga titles before Lionel Messi made his first-team debut in 2004-05, Barcelona were less of a one-man club. Legends like Johan Cruyff, Pep Guardiola and Ronaldinho had graced the Barcelona jersey before Lionel Messi. But none of them singularly managed to have the same effect on the team as the 33-year-old Argentine.
Lionel Messi has constantly pushed the bar for extraordinary performances, and that has reflected in the growing expectations of FC Barcelona. Every year, they aim for the coveted treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Champions League.
It is true that many clubs have the same expectations, but with Barcelona, things are a bit different. With Lionel Messi in the team, the world expects Barcelona to win major trophies every year regardless of who else may be in the team. And there lies the problem.
Football is played by a team of 11 players and not one. Lionel Messi can have a massive impact in games, but he cannot do it all alone every single time as have been the expectations from him in recent times. In fact, his best years were when he shared the burden with Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta and later with Neymar and Luis Suarez. However, that is no longer the case now.
While Suarez is still at Barcelona, the Uruguayan is a pale shadow of the fiesty forward who used to terrorise opposition defences. In fact, his future at the club is uncertain, and he may well follow the exit door if his Argentine pal leaves.
Barcelona have tried to find a player who could share the burden with Lionel Messi. But the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho and Antoinne Griezmann have all failed miserably till now. Why has that been so?
There are many reasons for the same, but one of them simply cannot be ignored. All three players were expensive acquisitions for Barcelona.
It does not matter what a player may have achieved previously, but once his name gets attached with a hefty price tag, it immediately puts pressure on the player to justify the same.
In the case of Dembele, his injuries have inhibited his progress at Barcelona. But for Coutinho and Griezmann, things are a bit more complicated. The duo were star players in their previous teams before arriving at Barcelona. In fact, both Liverpool and Atletico Madrid were reluctant to let go of Coutinho and Greizmann respectively because of the void they would leave in the team.
While Atletico have been slow to recover, Liverpool have managed to move on from Coutinho by winning their sixth Champions league title and first Premier League in 30 years.
So when the duo arrived at Barcelona, they were expected to continue what they did at their previous clubs and perhaps do it better. But how were they supposed to do that when there was a certain Lionel Messi in the Barcelona lineup? Has anyone heard the phrase "too many cooks spoil the broth"?
But now that Lionel Messi may well be out of the club, the time has come for the three aforementioned players to step up. They would no longer need to share the limelight with Lionel Messi. Griezmann could lead upfront with Dembele and Ansu Fati on the wings, and Coutinho may be able to do what he did best at Liverpool - pull the strings from midfield.
The new Barcelona lineup, even without Lionel Messi, includes De Jong and the incoming Miralem Pjanic, which is not too shabby for a club that is set to lose arguably their greatest ever player. But let's not get too carried away just yet.
Barcelona need to focus solely on domestic titles and let go of their obsession of the Champions League - an obsession - let's all be frank here, caused by the presence of Lionel Messi. The Spanish club are unlikely to win the competition next year even with Messi in the team.
That realisation could be one of the reasons the Argentine wants to leave Barcelona. Lionel Messi has been competitive all his life and would want to remain so until he hangs up his boots. And so should FC Barcelona who have always been proud of their motto "Mes Que Un Club", which means "more than just a club".
It is now time for FC Barcelona to show that they are not FC Messi.
