Can Lionel Messi really leave Barcelona?

The tide has definitely turned against a club which became popular across the globe for their tiki-taka playing style. FC Barcelona have experienced their worst season without any silverware. It ended with an embarrassing 8-2 thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich. It has become 5 consecutive seasons where they have been knocked out in either the quarterfinals or the semifinals of the Champions League. In this situation, what does Lionel Messi, arguably the world’s best player do for the future? With a whirlwind of changes expected in the squad, the little man also seems to have made up his mind. 

After considering his contract which expires at the end of next season, he has openly expressed his desire to leave Barcelona. This is a club that has moulded him and made him into the superstar he is today. But there have been too many incidents around the club that have made him feel that enough is enough. Club president Josep Maria Bartomeu spoke to the media recently and said that Messi is going to stay. With so many speculations and rumours linking him to other big clubs, it is a question whether they can pay off Messi’s release clause.

His release clause values up to 671 million Euros. That is a staggering amount of money and it is hard to see a club fulfill that value without breaching the Financial Fair Play rules and regulations. Big clubs like Manchester City and PSG have been linked to get a deal through for Messi. But the real question is , what happens in his meeting with the club’s board. For obvious reasons, they do not want him to go. He is a true legend of the club. The number of magical moments which he has produced in the course of the last decade and a half is just phenomenal. 

If the transfer does happen, it will be the biggest deals in the history of football transfers. Barcelona fans may feel hard done by his decision to leave. But for football neutrals, it is a really exciting proposition. Watching Messi play in a different shirt for a new league is something which everyone would love to see. He has been so deeply ingrained in the Barcelona system of playing right from his youth days in the academy. What kind of role can we expect him to play in another club? At 33 years of age, he has still got the insane dribbling abilities which are out of this world. 

A conundrum of thoughts strike my mind trying to analyse this transfer. Messi has been at the forefront of every award and honour in club football. This season as well, it was Barcelona’s worst season but Messi still managed to score 25 goals in La Liga and break Xavi’s record of the highest number of assists in a single season. By his exceptionally high standards, he has done what he has been doing consistently for the last 15 years. This is not something which comes out of just hard work. There are additional factors which influenced him to learn the craft effectively. 

Barcelona has been the victim of its own downfall this season. Messi could have got the best opportunity to win the Champions League. With some quality signings in their ranks in the form of Antoine Griezmann, it was a question of when would Messi and Co turn up to take Barcelona back to where they belong. They are a club which expects nothing short of titles every year. With such a big history, the club is experiencing the worst possible turmoil which has affected the mood of Barca fans across the globe. Half of the fans have become Barcelona fans because of Messi.

If he seriously happens to leave, it eill be a huge rebuild for Barcelona. They are desperate to persuade Messi to stay for another year. With the arrival of Ronald Koeman, they have decided to bring back the Dutch style of football which they were famous for. Koeman believes that Messi will stay. But what happens from now till the end of the transfer window will be exciting for football fans across the world. Can any club really afford him at the price tag which is set to acquire his talent? There might be a future for him outside Catalunya with the way things have taken place. 

The rift between him and the board has been an ongoing affair. Both Abidal and Bartomeu would be held responsible for the majority of the decisions at the club. Undoubtedly, none of the world’s best players are capable of filling his boots at the club. The no. 10 shirt has to retire if Messi leaves Barcelona. There is a sense of optimism around the rest of the world with this speculation. Who wouldn’t want the best player of the world in their team? It’s a question of who can invest and get him before it’s too late. At the end of the day, with Messi in the team, that team has a huge chance of competing for titles.