4 Reasons why Lionel Messi shouldn't leave Barcelona

#2 Competition with Ronaldo is what keeps him going

They have conquered the football world over this generation. Is it their competition that keepseither of them growing to such mystical heights?

Whether one agrees or not, the hard truth is that the La Liga has been singularly boosted by the presence of Messi and Ronaldo at their prime. It greatly improves the quality of the league and so does its numbers with fans flocking to witness these two incredible players in action every other week.

But far from what we can see, their growth over the years has been a symbiotic one with either of them looking to outdo the achievements of the other.

This magical feud fuels two of modern football’s most consistent performers and Messi moving away from the Camp Nou would surely destroy that. Now that either of them has achieved all the top honours in Real Madrid and Barcelona colours, the most important goal has become to cement their place as possibly the greatest player in La Liga.

Cristiano Ronaldo is on a mission to win two more Ballon D’ors to match Messi’s record who effectively is trying to prevent that by winning more of his own. With a Messi move out of Spain, this competition ceases to exist and quite simply, the aura of of the league drastically comes down.

Ever since Ronaldo’s move back in 2009, records have tumbled and the world alike has been stunned at the genius of these two men in work and that has been the most defining feud of this generation. Luis Suarez and Neymar are two brilliant footballers by their own right and so is the case with Gareth Bale but none of them brings to table the fascination of a ‘Messi v Ronaldo’.

The Modern-day El Clasico is centred around ‘Messi v Ronaldo’ – the two best players in the world facing one another. If one of them moves away, they’d obviously still vie for the top honours but not against each other directly. The football world stands to lose a lot and so does Messi.

This rivalry is something on which Messi thrives and is one of the major factors for his otherworldly records and stats. He should never accede to stopping this.