Messi out at Barca
Since football doesn't exist this fall - let's talk about the real futbol. (Let's be honest, this blog is functionally a soccer blog anyways)
Messi is out at Barca per the twitterz. He's been with the club since he was 13 but has gotten fed up over the recent mismanagement. Of note, a clause that he can leave "unilaterally" allowing him to cancel the contract without a 700 million pound release fee. The lawyers will still have a say in all of this...
ManCity, PSG, or Inter Milan are rumored destinations.
August 25th, 2020 at 2:33 PM ^
Seems to me he's doing this with titles in mind so, from a sporting perspective, Man city makes the most sense. Familiar with Pep, style of game already suits him, league play style also good for him. Italy, on the other side, is a lot more aggressive style which wouldn't be good for him imo.
If it is $ he has in mind tho, PSG and MC will be battle royale, even with their financial fair play considerations, they would overhaul the roster to have Messi.
Personally, go to MC, let Bernardo Silva on loan to Benfica for 2-3 years and I'd be tickled!
August 25th, 2020 at 3:49 PM ^
How about if Messi signs with Sunderland? After all, they are a League One powerhouse.
/s
August 25th, 2020 at 6:51 PM ^
That would be great for the netflix series. Netflix might even consider chipping in.
August 26th, 2020 at 2:22 AM ^
As a Newcastle fan, I can't upvote this enough.
August 26th, 2020 at 8:16 AM ^
His clause to leave for free expired in June. His transfer fee is 700mm euros. He will argue that the suspension of the season extended his "free out clause". Barca's lawyers will argue the opposite. Given the unique legal wranglings involved, I think Messi will be in Barcelona until end of next season since there isn't much time to settle that dispute legally. And then in June 2021, we'll see. There will will be a lot of changes in Barcelona given the hot mess that they are (losing 8-2 to Bayern?!?). And Barca really don't want to see Messi leave so will be making moves designed to entice him to stay. Grab the popcorn, it will be interesting to watch.
August 26th, 2020 at 11:26 AM ^
I see Mahrez going, maybe Jesus, but Bernardo should start in midfield next to kdb. Bernardo dropped form big time last year, so hopefully he’ll be back to top form. I see Garcia and angelino going to Barca plus either Mahrez or Jesus. I love Jesus’ work rate so I hope Mahrez gets off loaded
August 25th, 2020 at 2:34 PM ^
I won't believe it until i see the man himself says he is leaving. Rumors surrounding transfers run wild during the window.
August 25th, 2020 at 2:43 PM ^
I believe that Barca confirmed today that they had received notice from Messi that he would like to leave. If he does leave, it will be indeed very strange to see him in another kit.
August 25th, 2020 at 2:53 PM ^
I've seen far too many news outlets running the story to think it's false anymore lol. It will be weird and it's sad that his last game there was an 8-2 defeat in Champions League. End of an era.
August 25th, 2020 at 5:45 PM ^
The notification was sent from his managers to Barca via burofax (Barca confirmed receipt).
August 25th, 2020 at 2:52 PM ^
I don't follow futbol particularly intently but I knew he was unhappy and wanted better shots at titles. Makes sense, in that respect, to look elsewhere.
August 25th, 2020 at 3:01 PM ^
If this happens, I’m really curious where he’ll go - Man City with Pep?
August 25th, 2020 at 3:02 PM ^
I’m probably gonna be negged for this but golf is a much more entertaining sport to me than soccer.
August 25th, 2020 at 3:44 PM ^
So what you're saying is... you don't like sports.
August 25th, 2020 at 6:41 PM ^
I like sports. It just seems like soccer isn’t that interesting to me.
August 25th, 2020 at 6:55 PM ^
You just need a team to emotionally root for. I suggest Newcastle. They have a long rich history and have a beer named after them. You won't be disappointed.
August 25th, 2020 at 8:57 PM ^
As a childhood Newcastle fan (Alan Shearer and Shay Given were my favorites) I must concur with this.
August 25th, 2020 at 7:02 PM ^
I don't disagree, but why even post that hot take on this thread?
August 26th, 2020 at 8:05 AM ^
To prove to people that he can make coherent comments. He is just putting on a show so he doesn't get banned.
August 25th, 2020 at 3:02 PM ^
Whichever team has the best midfield players/ passers is where he should go - probably Man City with De Bruyne.
Barca never replaced Xavi and Iniesta, two all time greats. They built their system around Messi's amazing talents, but Messi is not a dominant physical or lightning fast force like Ronaldo. He is best receiving passes, accelerating in small areas - weaving through the defense, and is obviously a clinical finisher.
Messi has never won on the international level for this reason, as Argentina put too much emphasis on his 1 v 1 ability, and Barca screwed up in a similar fashion by bringing in finishers (Suarez and Neymar) instead of midfield magicians and ball control masters to feed his greatness.
August 25th, 2020 at 3:20 PM ^
Still tho ... that Messi/Neymar/Suarez combo was filthy
August 25th, 2020 at 4:57 PM ^
Indeed. They needed a Modric on that team. They needed 1 solid ball controlling midfielder and it would have been insane.
August 25th, 2020 at 10:34 PM ^
Like Rakitic?
They won the treble in 2014-15 (Champions League, La Liga, and Copa del Rey) and the three players you mentioned scored 122 goals. Not sure what more you're looking for.
August 25th, 2020 at 3:23 PM ^
The biggest mistake, for all involved, was Neymar and Barca divorcing.
Messi and Neymar just clicked an another level.
I won't fault Neymar for wanting to get out of another players shadow, but at the same time, I don't think many people thought he could possibly go somewhere else, and be more successful. And it played out exactly as people expected.
August 25th, 2020 at 4:59 PM ^
Yeah. If he goes to PSG and they have Mbappe, Neymar and Messi it will be insane.
May even benefit that team to drop Messi back to attacking midfield more as Mbappe and Neymar are clinical finishers and Messi is a far superior passer to the other 2.
August 26th, 2020 at 3:03 PM ^
Going to PSG really hasn't hurt Neymar's career, aside from that he literally was injured the last two years in the Champions' League knockout stages when they were eliminated. He was healthy this time and led them to the final.
August 26th, 2020 at 12:05 AM ^
“Messi has never won on the international level for this reason, ...”
Oh, come on. He’s led Barça to 3 Champions League titles.
August 26th, 2020 at 12:11 AM ^
Not sure if you're being sarcastic, but when people reference 'international' in soccer, it means playing for their country. With the Champions League, Messi is playing for his club. International for Messi is the World Cup and the Copa America, which amazingly Argentina hasn't won in almost 30 yrs.
August 26th, 2020 at 3:01 PM ^
It's still a pretty dumb criticism of him considering that he led Argentina to the WC final in 2014 (where they lost in extra time).
August 26th, 2020 at 4:40 PM ^
Not being sarcastic. You have domestic play and international play. Domestic is within your club team's country and international is all else; not just the World Cup.
And even if that isn't universally accepted nomenclature (although I think it is), I'm certain that is how the OP intended it as the paragraph that I quoted goes on to explain how he thinks Argentina AND Barcelona failed him on the international stage. See "Messi has never won on the international level for this reason, as Argentina put too much emphasis on his 1 v 1 ability, and Barca screwed up in a similar fashion by bringing in finishers (Suarez and Neymar) instead of midfield magicians and ball control masters to feed his greatness."
August 26th, 2020 at 1:31 AM ^
There is no replacing Iniesta as one of the greatest midfielders and unselfish teammates ever. Xavi wasn't too shabby either. Add "staples" Puyol, Dani Alvez, Mascherano, and a younger Pique were also so tough to play against and clutch complete players. You can't replace these guys.
Messi and Ronaldo are in the class scorers but can't do it themselves. Argentina not winning it all was not just because of Messi. More like because of cokehead Maradona's ego killing the spirit of the team and the insane pressure for Messi to do it all alone. At the 2018 WC Croatia and France were better teams than Argentina. Maybe Iceland too?
August 26th, 2020 at 11:13 AM ^
Xavi and Inieasta we're so incredible. They made that team work and I enjoyed watching them just as much as Messi.
August 25th, 2020 at 3:18 PM ^
This may get Messi.
August 25th, 2020 at 6:07 PM ^
You ain't Lion(el)...
Really sorry, I'll see myself out.
August 25th, 2020 at 3:20 PM ^
Barca and Real Madrid front offices remind me so much of the Yankees of the early 2000's, as the dynasty crumbled. They focused on collecting talent and big names rather than actually building a proper team.
I know no one should cry for Messi, as he's always been surrounded by huge money talent, and the team is not afraid to spend, but they have indeed made terrible decisions with that money, and they love to sign overpriced flops who definitely would not fit next to Messi (looking at you, Coutinho) and have also had a terrible run of managers since Pep left. They have not found fits for Iniesta, Xavi, and Neymar, and it shows.
I think Messi is being a little petulant, since expecting to win it all every year just isn't realistic, but I'm sure he also realizes that this situation is not going to get better anytime soon, and when you're the greatest player in the world, you can kind of call your shots.
August 25th, 2020 at 3:59 PM ^
Eh, I don't agree with lumping Madrid in with Barca in your comparison to the Yankees, though as a Madridista, this could be bias talking. I think generally Madrid fans feel pretty good about the approach they have taken with talent acquisition in the last few years. And to say that Madrid is crumbling with their recent champions league success is a bit premature.
Madrid's only big outlay in the last several years was Hazard. Obviously that didn't pan out so far, but time will tell. Other than that, they have for the most part pursued more modest acquisitions, with a focus on young players. They have aging players for sure (Benz, Modric, Kroos, Ramos) but also appear to have some younger players primed to step in. It could be the end of their high point, but I think it is too early to tell.
Arguably not the case for Barcelona, whom seem more concretely on a downward trajectory. They have a few more higher profile swing and misses like Coutinho and maybe Dembele/Griezmann, though it might be early to judge those latter two signings. And they're still judged against their golden age, so it will always to hard to live up to those expectations.
August 25th, 2020 at 4:17 PM ^
Madrid signing James based off a great world cup, while having absolutely no position space for him comes to mind as that type of move.
August 25th, 2020 at 4:26 PM ^
That is certainly one of their worst signings, but it was six years ago, so I'm not sure how representative it is of their current approach. They also signed Toni Kroos that same summer for 25M euros, which triple stamps your double stamp.
August 26th, 2020 at 8:10 AM ^
I would also add Jovic. How many games has he actually played since they signed him for $66 mil?
August 26th, 2020 at 8:44 AM ^
I think that signing has worrying signs of failure, but I'm also hesitant to judge after only a year. He had a big season (20+ goals) the year before for Frankfurt at age 21, so I think it's early to write him off.
August 26th, 2020 at 8:51 AM ^
Benzema also had a good season up top with 27 goals 11 assists in all comps. I don't follow Madrid at all but is the intention for him to replace him since he is 32?
August 26th, 2020 at 10:12 AM ^
Benz had one of his best seasons this year. His style of play is more technical, so I think he could be effective for another few years, but I'm sure they are looking for a replacement given his age.
Jovic was young enough that a back up role for a year or two before a transition to starting made sense, but that particular option looks dicey after this year at least. There is speculation they are open to selling him. I think their ultimate plan is Mbappe in 2021. Or maybe they make a run at Haaland, but Mbappe in particular seems like he is interested in a move to Madrid, if the rumblings are to be believed.
August 26th, 2020 at 12:10 AM ^
Gareth Bale was a much more disastrous signing than James. Bale’s petulance has completely soured me on him as a player and as a person.
August 26th, 2020 at 8:50 AM ^
I get those souring feelings (Wales, Golf, Madrid...) but he also contributed a lot more than James ever did at Madrid. The BBC front line was pretty successful for a number of years, and Bale had the winning goal in two of the four champions league titles. His fee wasn't that much higher than James, either.
August 26th, 2020 at 5:01 PM ^
I say this based on a few criteria:
1. James was a cheaper signing when you factor in his transfer fee and wages than Bale. And a significantly cheaper one when you factor in that he agreed to a Bayern loan where RM recouped a loan fee and got his wages off their books for two years.
2. James has never been a clubhouse problem. He agreed to a loan at RM's request. Bale has been petulant in the extreme. He'd rather sacrifice his career (sit on the bench) than take any sort of pay cut to facilitate a sale. Just gross. That's why RM fans can't stand him while there is little (if any) vitriol against James (just disappointment).
3. Bale has been more productive but his production does not offset 1 and 2.
August 26th, 2020 at 12:21 AM ^
While true, Madrid has been stock piling young talent the last few years: Valverde, Vinicius, Rodrygo, Regulon, Militao, Mendy, Odegaard
August 25th, 2020 at 3:27 PM ^
And since FFP has been proven to be a complete farce, Oil Tyrant FC will sign him.
August 25th, 2020 at 3:30 PM ^
Something was bound to happen after that shitshow against Bayern in CL.
I'm not sure the speed and grind of the EPL is a great place for him at this stage of his career. PSG feels like a good landing spot if only because they feel like they came close to winning Europe and Messi represents that last proverbial piece of the puzzle.
August 25th, 2020 at 3:57 PM ^
Not ManCity, please! Go to Liiiiiiverpooool!