The End of the Messi Era

Barcelona and Messi have been synonymous over the years, but the time has come to part ways. Barcelona are in a dire financial situation and keeping Messi just wasn’t possible. Messi is officially a PSG player and we all wish him the best of luck. This blog post is going to explore the Messi situation in full including the rumors, the implications on the team and also discussing the spectacular legacy Messi has left behind.

Rumors Galore

The Messi news hit us all hard, we weren’t able to process the enormity of the event that had taken place in the matter of hours. Naturally, people look for targets to start the blame game. People have accused of Laporta partnering with Perez and choosing the ESL over Messi, while Tebas and La Liga have been blamed for not allowing Barcelona to register Messi and quite a lot of blame has inevitably fallen on Josep Bartomeu. Jaume Llopis (Member of the Espai Barça Commission) and Barcelona legend Hristo Stoichkov have criticized Laporta on the matter. Tebas has come out and said that Laporta was initially excited by the prospect of the CVC deal as it meant Barcelona could register Messi, but later didn’t support it. However, this was proven absolutely false as RFEF declared the CVC deal as illegal. CVC are an investment company and so the terms were only driven by profit. It only provided short term aid while bagging a huge amount of the clubs’ revenues across 50 years. Laporta was absolutely right to deny involvement in the deal, ESL or not. Here, we are talking about a debt of 1.3 Billion Euros, the CVC deal would have provided Barcelona with 270 Million Euros, but only 15% can be used for re-financing debt. Finances may be out of our scope of knowledge, but we are no fools to understand that it just won’t be enough for us to restructure our wage bill and debt to register Messi. The blame certainly should and does lie with the previous Barcelona board. Josep Bartomeu has burnt the club down to the ground and it’s ridiculous how a Barcelona with Messi in his prime has been left in tatters by the management. The real problem I have had with Laporta is that of lack of transparency. Surely, he knew registering Messi was impossible. His campaign was driven around Messi, but after that he still stood firm and said that Messi was going to stay and one fine day the tables turned. Of course, no one can get elected saying they won’t make Messi stay but surely the fans deserved some form of transparency from the board that has to be trusted for the next 5 years. 

The Priceless Messi Era

Messi has given absolutely everything to this club. From signing on a tissue to wiping tears with it. The history he has created at this club can probably never be replicated and now with him not at the club anymore, it’s better for us culers to be delighted that it happened instead of being sad that it ended. We all quite well know the legacy Messi has left at Barcelona, so let’s keep this brief. Messi has won at astounding 35 trophies with Barcelona and who knows how many more individual awards he has won in this time. He has 4 UEFA Champions Leagues, 10 La Liga Titles and 7 Copa del Rey titles to his name. Individual accolades include 6 Ballon d’Ors and 5 golden boots. He has played 778 matches for Barcelona, scoring 672 goals and providing 305 assists. Every single goal, of course, is spectacular, but there are several memorable goals that we do remember. Messi has said that his best ever moment with the club was when he made his debut and his first goal was quite iconic as well and of course it was Ronaldinho who provided the assist for that goal. The goals against Getafe and Athletic Club showcased the dribbling genius of Messi. The header against Manchester United was a special moment, with him leaving Ferdinand and Van der Sar in utter shock and also the iconic celebration of him kissing his boot, a gesture towards his late grandmother. The goal against Bayern Munich where Messi left Boateng on the floor and then lobbed Neuer was just incredible.  The goal and tribute to Maradona was touching. And who can forget the last minute goal in the El Classico when Messi got his shirt off and showed it straight in the face of Real Madrid fans at the Santiago Bernabéu. Over the years we have seen great goals, mesmerizing dribbles, inhuman passes, insane lobs, amazing free kicks, iconic celebrations, records broken, and much more. Thank you, Leo. 

Moving On

Even without Messi, Barcelona have to be competitive this season. Our squad is still very good and there is no reason why we can’t expect to be fighting for major trophies this season. Champions league still may be out of our reach, but with Real Madrid weakened and Atletico riding on Suarez and Llorente defying xG, Barcelona have every chance of winning La Liga. The signings of Memphis Depay, Aguero, Emerson and Garcia will improve the team and the squad is filled with bright youngsters. Of course with Messi gone, one player can’t replace his output, the whole team has to chip in and contribute to fill the gaping hole. Messi’s departure will be a massive loss to Barcelona on the pitch, but it also provides some minor benefits to the team. Barcelona can now press as a unit with everyone in the frontline ready to work hard and hunt down the ball. Players like Griezmann and maybe even Coutinho will get the freedom they lacked when Messi was at the club. In this first game of the season we saw how Messi’s departure has almost united the team. The sorrow happenings have brought the players together and they surely are ready to fight to achieve what they can. 

There you have it, the complete picture on the Messi saga. Comment down below what you have made of the situation, share the content and why not check out My Ideal Lineups for the Season, if you haven’t already. Thanks for stopping by, I hope to see you back soon and remember it’s more than a blog.