Barcelona dropped a bombshell on Thursday night, announcing that Lionel Messi will be leaving the club after 21 years at Camp Nou.
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Being a one-club player in modern football is a rare occurrence. With astronomical transfer fees and player wages being thrown around in an unreasonable transfer market, it is rare to see players see out their entire career in a single club. Gone are the days when players like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Xavi Hernandez, and Andres Iniesta spent the majority of their footballing careers with a single club. Lionel Messi was one such rare exception, who joined Barcelona at the age of 13 and stayed there for a good 21 years. For all the world, it appeared that the Argentine legend would finish his career at the Catalan club. Few would have imagined that his illustrious career would come to an abrupt end in Spain.
Barcelona dropped a bombshell on Thursday night, announcing that Lionel Messi will be leaving the club after 21 years at Camp Nou. The 34-year-old forward, who became bigger than the club or the La Liga at one point, is a free agent and without a club in this transfer window. One would think that a player like Messi would have no trouble finding a suitable suitor. However, financial fair play restrictions may prevent many clubs from pursuing the forward, whose wages will not be cheaper. Only a handful of clubs may be able to afford him, but even those clubs will need to change their wage structure or sell some players to accommodate a player of Messi’s caliber.
But the reBut the real question is whether it would be a bad decision for Lionel Messi to leave a club that has a lot of internal issues and is no longer the force it once was on the pitch. In the case of Barcelona, a team in the midst of a financial crisis, letting go of an aged superstar, who will only add to their wage bill woes, may not be a bad decision.
Born and raised in central Argentina, Messi relocated to Spain to join Barcelona at age 13. Quickly catching the eye of their coaches, the promising young player began progressing up the ranks in no time and made his competitive debut in October 2004. At the time, the Catalan club was centered on another superstar, Ronaldinho, who was ruling Europe with his dazzling abilities and out-of-this-world footwork.
As a promising young talent, Messi began to receive recognition from both the club and the fans, but it wasn’t until Pep Guardiola arrived that the Argentine truly emerged from Ronaldinho’s shadow. In the summer of 2008, Messi stepped up to fill the massive void left by the departure of the Brazilian wizard. The Argentine magician and Pep Guardiola established a dynasty as Barcelona emerged as the new club force to be reckoned with. They played a brand of football known as ‘tiki taka’, which received international acclaim.
Guardiola’s method was widely lauded for depriving the opposition of possession through high pressing and suffocating them with ball retention. Their one-touch passing moves were a visual feast as the Catalan giants ripped apart the heavyweights in Spain and abroad. Lionel Messi was at the heart of the system. Together, they both dominated Europe and won two Champions League titles along with league titles and other trophies in that period.
When Guardiola left the club in 2012, supporters and pundits alike were unsure of the team’s future. Barcelona, on the other hand, continued to thrive at the top level, thanks in large part to Lionel Messi’s masterclass. There is nothing more unfair than claiming that an entire club was reliant on a single individual. But if there is one player capable of carrying the weight of an entire club on his shoulders, it has to be none other than Messi.
He continued to perform, kept scoring goals, creating chances irrespective of the players or manager coming in or going out. Messi’s level of performance never dipped. The most recent season was the best illustration to prove this point. Barcelona’s inability to reach their normal high standards resulted in odd results in European and domestic competitions. But one thing remained constant – Lionel Messi’s level of performance.
He was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise average campaign for the club. Messi carried his form into the Copa America, where he played a pivotal role in the team’s victory. Barcelona fans expected him to maintain his form this season and help the club reclaim its former glory. But the fans had no idea that they had seen the last of Messi in a Barcelona jersey.
As sad as it may feel, the end of the road may not be such a bad thing for both parties involved. In his final years at the top flight, Lionel Messi would like to be a part of a team that dominates Europe and lifts the famous Champions League trophy one more time. It’s unlikely to happen anytime soon at Barcelona, a team in the midst of a rebuilding phase. For the first time in his senior career, a move to a new club might not necessarily be a bad thing for Messi.
A player of Messi’s calibre being absent from the club’s wage bill may not be a bad thing for a team like Barcelona, which is dealing with massive financial challenges. Having said that, a day that football thought would never come has finally arrived. Nothing is more painful than bidding farewell to a club legend who has provided countless joyful memories during his 17 seasons with the team. However, for both the player and the club, this separation may be beneficial in the long run.
