Sixteen years, 33 key trophies, 6 Balon D’ors, 485 appearances, 444 goals, that’s what Lionel Messi has achieved at Barcelona. And to no one’s surprise, the Internet exploded when the news came out that Messi submitted a transfer request at Barcelona and wanted to move elsewhere this season.
Out of all the 16 seasons that Messi has excelled at Barcelona, this looked like the most probable end to his stint at Camp Nou. Barcelona was humiliated in the Champions League, lost a title that they should have won to Real Madrid and the club is surrounded by all kinds of infighting rumours. Most fans and pundits would have predicted this outcome simply by looking at his postmatch reaction, he looked that defeated.
But the big question on every football fan’s mind is: Where is Lionel Messi heading to? For most, Manchester City looks like the most fitting destination primarily due to the Pep Guardiola connection. And if reports are to be believed, the talks for that move have already started between Pep and Messi. Although every football club with a big purse is expected to now be linked to Messi, the other big names doing the rounds are the Champions league finalists PSG, Inter Milan, and shockingly, Real Madrid.
But the very thought of a Messi leaving has sent Barcelona fans into a frenzy with most of them now wanting an overhaul within the board and demanding the resignation of club president Bartomeu. Some of them even gathered outside the club office, making their views about this pretty clear.
But the bigger worry for Barcelona other than convincing him to stay is the cost at which he could leave — which is for free. Messi’s contract with Barcelona ends in 2021 and he has a 700 million release clause on him, something which would ensure a financial exit back then almost impossible. But the key here is a secret clause put in his contract, which as per reports, says that he can leave at the end of any season if he wants for no cost at all. This particular flashpoint is likely to surface a lot in the coming days, possibly even going to the courts. If you ask me, for a player who has served this club for 16 long years, a smooth exit should be ensured just to honor his legacy.
So if Messi is allowed to leave for free, it will be him picking the club he wants to play for rather than the usual opposite. Only that the club he selects will have to pay his wages, a whopping 1 million euros a week and close to 60 million euros a year, something that not many clubs can afford to do.
If the Argentinian has set his mind on leaving the club, Barcelona will have to look for a suitable replacement or maybe a few replacements to try and fill the void he will leave.
But no matter what happens in the coming days, this transfer window is all set to be one that goes down in history, now that arguable the best player in the world is finally moving away from Barcelona. It remains to be seen what drama unfolds in this transfer saga.
