The unthinkable seems to be happening closer than ever before. Lionel Messi is apparently full of Barcelona management and is considering switching clubs. It is hard to know who could supply him in the current economic circumstances, but it would also be difficult to keep the captain and icon of the club against his will.
If Messi were to leave, Barcelona would really be in trouble. The past few seasons they have been more dependent on him than ever. Especially in the last season, Messi had a hand in every goal, almost. Their UEFA Champions League win over Napoli, with Messi scoring a solo goal and winning a penalty out of nowhere, and winning 3-1, was another example.
Without a doubt, Barcelona would be much weaker, and we would find it hard to believe that they could return and win the league, let alone the UEFA Champions League, within the next season or even in the next pairs.
Real Madrid sold Cristiano Ronaldo, and despite missing last year, La Liga won relatively soon after. It is hard to imagine that Barcelona could absorb the loss so quickly. This Barcelona is more dependent on Messi than Madrid was on Ronaldo, not to mention, this Barcelona generally has less quality than that Madrid.
However, Barcelona have a few pieces to build a team. It would not be inconceivable to keep Antoine Griezmann and give him a more central role if Messi were to leave. They could look to a few young midfielders like Frenkie de Jong and Riqui Puig to develop into the next generation of Barcelona legends. And there is always Ansu Fati.
Yet his loss would be massive. The level of the team would drop drastically. And in terms of PR, it would also be terrible. This team requires Messi to mark the team, and increase the value of the club.
From Messi’s point of view, however, it can make a lot of sense. The player has a limited number of years left at the top level. He may not be able to wait years to see if the board can give him a supporting cast worthy of a Champions League finalist.
If that is the case, many Barcelona fans may be OK if Messi leaves. Or they may want it themselves. Just to achieve their idol better things. And then the team could look for silver linings. The pressure to build up quickly would be off. True, the team would be smaller, but at least they could ruin some big paying contracts and adopt a slow, methodical rebuilding process. It would coincide with new elections.
It’s a strange subject to think about these days.
