Clock ticking on Barca as a Messi summer exit now looks inevitable
YET another disastrous defeat for Barcelona in the Champions League – 4-1 at home to Paris SaintGermain on Tuesday night – is one I believe will hasten the departure of Lionel Messi.
We all know about last summer’s episode of discontent from the Argentine superstar and of course we know the eventual outcome.
However, the issue is a lot clearer this summer. It’s a fact Messi will be out of contract and if he wants to leave there are no clauses in place to ensure he stays against his will.
Barcelona had one last chance to show him they genuinely could compete at the top level and they have failed miserably.
With time against him now, at the age of 33, I believe Messi will reluctantly walk away from the club that has been his life – something I had never envisaged happening.
This season has shown some hope for a better future for Barcelona, with the introduction of some outstanding talented youngsters with the likes of Ansu Fati, Ilaix Moriba and Pedri, who are all just 18, along with Ronald Araujo, Francisco Trincao, Sergino Dest and Riqui Puig. But that is still a million miles away from playing with Carles Puyol, Dani Alves, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Luis Suarez and Neymar. We have witnessed progress this season under Ronald Koeman but the reality is Barcelona have lost every big game they have played against toplevel teams. Defeats against Real Madrid, Atletico, Sevilla, Juventus and now PSG in the Champions League this week show exactly how far they have to go to get back to being competitive enough to satisfy Messi. The failings of the previous presidential administration led by Josep Bartomeu have led to an incredible downturn in Barcelona’s fortunes on and off the pitch and whoever takes over after next month’s elections will not be able to provide a ‘fix’ quickly enough to convince Messi it is worth his while staying. It is the sort of planning that still sees Jordi Alba, 31, and Gerard Pique, 34, with three years left on their contracts and 32-year-old Sergio Busquets with two.
More importantly, a failure of planning has led them into debt to the tune of more than a billion pounds. Whoever wins the election, and it is likely we will see the return of Joan Laporta, will not have the tools to
‘Money would have been the last thing on his mind as he walked off disconsolately’
convince Messi that the team will be able to compete at a level he believes is genuine any time soon.
I do not believe Messi’s future will be decided by money he earns alone. Yes he will be compensated financially according to his status but I believe he will choose his next move primarily on sporting terms. Money would have been the furthest thing from his mind when he walked off disconsolately after another thrashing for the fifth season on the trot in the Champions League. He of course has to share some responsibility for these losses
but let’s not forget football is a team game and no player alone could rectify this dog’s dinner of a team and lead them to any kind of success.
Time is not on Messi’s side now and he is still showing his brilliance in La Liga this season, but I don’t think he can afford to be part of a project that might bear fruition in three or four years time. Barcelona will have only themselves to blame if they lose him.