Argentine exit sparking scramble for signature

THE suitors with the deepest pockets are Manchester City, led by Messi’s former Barcelona mentor Pep Guardiola – or Paris Saint Germain, where he would link up once again with former teammate Neymar.

City were agonisingly close to European glory last season – as were PSG the year before – and the addition of Messi could give Guardiola or Mauricio Pochettino the X-factor as both pursue the one trophy missing from the cabinet.

The growing turmoil enveloping Barcelona has been reflected in Messi’s diminishing statistics.

Though he managed 31 goals in all games during the virusinterrupted campaign just ended, it was his lowest return since 2007-08.

Although he hit 30 last year to top the charts to take his club record to 474 it was well off his peak year of 50 league strikes in 2012. That season he set a European all-time record season tally of 73, breaking Gerd Mueller’s 67 goals scored in the 1972-73 German season.

Barcelona have insisted in the past they had plans for coping with Messi’s retirement, whenever it came, but the truth is their number 10 is irreplaceable – on the field as well as off. According to Catalan financial firm Diagonal Inversiones Messi is worth more than his salary – by a distance.

The father of three – married to childhood sweetheart Antonella – may have earned some 385 million euros (US$430 million) in the past four years at Barca. But a study by the firm indicates he generated income of 619 million euros in that time for a 235.6 million profit.

He is also reportedly responsible for 30 percent of club income and eight in ten shirt sales. Take that out of the equation and Barca will be losing more than just a man who led them to 10 La Liga crowns, four UEFA Champions Leagues, three Club World Cups and six Spanish Cups and who has scored the most goals and most hat-tricks in La Liga while netting more than 700 senior goals for club and country.

For Messi, one more golden hurrah is the hope. For Barca, who style themselves “more than a club” if this is indeed adios to a superstar who is ‘more than a player’ his departure will leave a massive hole to fill on the pitch as their number ten seeks pastures new – and a gargantuan one for their accountants to plug.