They say that no player is bigger than the club, but the Argentine is putting that old adage to the test in his attempt to leave the Camp Nou
It was hardly surprising to see La Liga president Javier Tebas endorse Barcelona’s claim that Lionel Messi’s buyout clause for 700 million euros (624 million pounds / 823 million dollars) is still valid.
After all, Tebas has previously argued that while Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer from Real Madrid to Juventus did little to dampen the popularity of the Spanish top flight, Messi’s departure would be cause for concern.
“The transfer of Cristiano, although it bothered Madrid, had almost no impact because La Liga has been ensuring for years that the brand transcends the players,” he said RAC1 in June. “But the case of Messi is different.
“Messi is the best player in the history of the game. We have been fortunate to have him in La Liga for his entire career. I think you would notice Messi’s departure, especially if he went to another league.”
Then, the probable desertion of the Argentine to Manchester City has been a very inopportune blow for Tebas. It would mean that none of the top 10 finishers on last year’s Ballon d’Or list would play in Spain this season.
And if Messi’s departure would be a devastating development for the league as a whole, what does that say about the effect it will have on Barcelona and their global appeal?
The Blaugrana, of course, pride themselves on being ‘more than a club’, but is that still true?
It is not just Messi who has been bitterly disappointed with the way Barcelona has been led by Josep Maria Bartomeu.
The forward’s frustration is mainly due to the inability of the president to surround him with players of sufficient quality to win the Champions League.
But many fans are as concerned about the way the club’s name has been dragged through the mud during Bartomeu’s tenure as they are about his predecessor and close confidant, Sandro Rosell.
During the last decade, there has been an endless stream of scandals, since Neymar’s transfer to the ‘Barça-gate’.
What’s more, while the Blaugrana once refused to stain their shirt with sponsors, they now do business deals with states accused of human rights abuses and kit makers that rely on child labor in Asian ‘sweatshops’.
Meanwhile, many fans have never forgiven the club for not fully supporting its people during the Catalan independence referendum in 2017.
Essentially, a social institution so closely associated with the fight for freedom has become the slave of big business, as this summer’s desperate trade agreement between Arthur and Miralem Pjanic underlines, which was carried out solely to balance the odds. books.
The Messi affair has only intensified the panic surrounding Barça’s economic situation. Losing the best player in the world would be bad enough for business; losing it for nothing, however, would be catastrophic.
Removing Messi from the payroll would undoubtedly alleviate some of Barca’s financial concerns, but it would not provide them with the funds necessary to properly renew an aging and unbalanced team.
According to the latest reports from Argentina, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner wants to reach a ‘friendly’ solution, perhaps with City agreeing some sort of more effective player agreement with Barça.
Bartomeu, however, is insisting, firm that the termination clause remains intact.
Even former President Joan Gaspart recently said Brand: “He cannot leave. I have seen the contract and it is very clear. The clause ended in June and there is no going back. He will have to leave in 2021. The club is in charge here, not the player.”
But Bartomeu’s Barça have clearly lost all control of the situation, and it is Messi who is likely to dictate how the current showdown ends.
At the end of the day, we live in the age of player power and there is no player more powerful than Lionel Messi.
He may be a reserved character stepping away from controversy, but Barça’s decline has infuriated him more and more since Neymar’s surprising departure in 2017, and it cannot be denied that the patron’s influence extends far beyond the club’s dressing room. Camp Nou.
That the option to walk away for nothing was inserted into his most recent contract in the first place tells you everything you need to know about the strength of his hand.
It left Barça wide open to an apocalyptic scenario, but Bartomeu felt he had no choice but to give in to their demands. After all, no one wants to be the man who let Messi leave Catalonia.
That now seems inevitable though, which is why Bartomeu is doing everything in his power to make this look like Messi’s fault, when, in fact, the president is ultimately responsible for this mess.
His mismanagement of the club disappointed not only Messi, but all the club’s fans. Consequently, Barça now runs the risk of losing an important part of that hobby.
There is an old soccer adage that says “no player is bigger than the club”, but it has its roots in a bygone era. The modern age is a very different animal.
As Tim Bridge, author of Deloitte Football Money League, said, Objective: “Nowadays, more and more soccer fans are following the players rather than the teams.
“Either they love the way they play the game or they just love the personality, the image …”
And Messi, it is not an exaggeration to say, is one of the most beloved people on the planet.
She has 166 million followers on Instagram alone, more than Beyonce, Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift and, significantly, Barcelona (89.3 million).
This kind of social media adulation is now a huge factor when it comes to determining transfer fees; Certainly Ronaldo’s colossal business appeal helps explain why Juve felt compelled to pay € 100 million (£ 89 million / $ 119 million) for a 33-year-old attacker.
There is no doubt that a Barcelona without Messi will suddenly become much less attractive to football sponsors and tourists (the good-weather fans who flocked to Camp Nou from all over the world just to watch him play).
Of course, if the Blaugrana rebuild is a success, they will remain one of football’s biggest draws, but it’s hard to see them suddenly return to the winning track without their talisman, at least in the short term.
Messi has been Barça’s top scorer in all competitions since the 2008-09 treble campaign.
In the 120-year history of the club, the Blaugrana have won 94 trophies, more than a third of them (33) came during Messi’s 16 years as a first-team player.
Already in 2017, Javier Mascherano warned Barça about the colossal impact that Messi’s departure would have at the club.
“Leo is a unique player,” the midfielder told the club’s official magazine. “We are talking about the best player in history, for this club and for sport.
“Important people have left Barça in recent years, people who will remain in the club’s history, but the team continues to function, continues to win.
“The club is bigger than any coach, than any player … except Leo. That is reality and you have to accept it.”
Barcelona will not, of course. But that does not mean it is not true. At least not right now.
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