Messi to leave Barca

Looks like the wheels are in motion. This one could get.....erm......ugly.

https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11833/12056591/lionel-messi-tells-barcelona-he-wants-to-leave-the-club

Bartomeu will resign and Messi will stay

https://twitter.com/simoninmadrid/status/1298364851778129921?s=19

Haha what a shambles of a club deserve all they get.

Unless psg or city have offered him a million a week it's just Messi wanting his own way.

This one year contract thing had makes him look like a spoilt brat, every single year he stamps his feet and gets thrown a load more money. I can't see him ever leaving Barca.

Only just found out he's on £1M a week.

Presumed he'd be on something like 400-500k, had no idea he was picking up a million. Absolute madness

Huh? Last time I knew he was on 650k. That explains his yearly hissy fit.

It'll be interesting if the city rumours are true to see him going up against robbo again.

Can't see it though, I think he's just being a tart.

£1M base salary apparently, and that's not including bonuses and image rights. Incredible

But yeah, inclined to think he'll stay myself

As it goes, I think Barca would actually be better off without him, cut him loose and have a fresh start. If we had a player who threw a yearly strop because we haven’t won something then I know I’d be getting tired of it. The board isn’t good at Barca but to be honest, they can only do so much, they’ve provided a ridiculous amount of money because Messi was demanding the likes of Coutinho and Griezemann. They have a squad that is more than capable of winning every trophy going, it’s the players and manager who led the club to get beaten 8-2, not the board.

The more Messi’s career goes on the more I can’t stand him because of all of his sulking and retirements etc. Argentina struggling and Barcelona struggling, what’s the common thing between the 2 sides? Messi is the captain and he’s shown a complete lack of leadership to both teams when they aren’t winning.

His attitude stinks. Couldn’t be doing with that, we had enough crap from Coutinho.

Alleged £1,000,000 per week, and was deffo on the tax fiddle.

I wonder was this Money inclusive of all the bonus' or were they extras?

I almost kind of hope he does go to City. Then when we rinse them for the title the bald fraud will really have no more excuses.

I almost kind of hope he does go to City. Then when we rinse them for the title the bald fraud will really have no more excuses.

Talk doing the rounds is that pep and Messi have talked about him going to city.

If that happened wonder who will have to leave city,  Mahrez or Bernado would be sold

Between City and PSG sounds like.

It astounds me that a player can have a written contract and two sides interpret it so differently

It just speaks to how dirty the business of football and sports marketing are . His name and image drive so much revenue, everybody wants a piece of it. But in reality, his influence on games is declining. still a great player of course, but declining.

I am glad our club are wired differently

Between City and PSG sounds like.

It astounds me that a player can have a written contract and two sides interpret it so differently

It just speaks to how dirty the business of football and sports marketing are . His name and image drive so much revenue, everybody wants a piece of it. But in reality, his influence on games is declining. still a great player of course, but declining.

I am glad our club are wired differently

Think City would be incredibly foolish to try and sign Messi. Best part of £1mill per week, on the back of a CAS investigation where it’s already questioned how they were cleared would be playing with fire IMO. I know FFP isnt really a thing this year now but I could see it drawing a lot of further attention their way, attention that I think they are keen to avoid.

The only way Messi to City happens is if the likes of Jesus, Fernandinho, Otamendi etc are sold and no other signings made.

But that said, I can’t see him going anywhere, it’s just one of his typical tantrums.

Between City and PSG sounds like.

It astounds me that a player can have a written contract and two sides interpret it so differently

It just speaks to how dirty the business of football and sports marketing are . His name and image drive so much revenue, everybody wants a piece of it. But in reality, his influence on games is declining. still a great player of course, but declining.

I am glad our club are wired differently

Actually, I think it's being interpreted differently due to the season being affected by Covid. Barca are holding fast to the date that was in the contract which was put in there under the assumption that the season would be finished by then. Because of Covid, the season didn't finish till later and Messi's reps are saying that the date that was in the contract isn't relevant because the season wasn't "over" at that time and that Messi is within his rights to do what he's doing. If Messi is serious, I'm not sure why Barca want to go to court over this. It's just going to work out badly for them either way.

A contract is a contract. The clause in question has gone.

Two horrid businesses going head to head. No one will win.

A contract is a contract. The clause in question has gone.

Two horrid businesses going head to head. No one will win.

No, a contract is only as valid as it's language. Why do you think they need lawyers to read these things and they are usually hundreds of pages long.

If there wasn't sufficient language in there to cover contingencies like a pandemic, then it's up for interpretation and will likely have to be interpreted in court. I'd say Messi has the upper hand because if there is any language in there about "end of season" then the date won't matter. If Messi had to notify them after a date that was presumed to be after the season ended, but in reailty the season hadn't ended by that date....well that's about as clear as mud.

I almost kind of hope he does go to City. Then when we rinse them for the title the bald fraud will really have no more excuses.

Be funny if he goes to City. Phil Foden turning up to training the next day & wondering where his locker has gone

i think there would be more than one turning up looking for their lockers

Would have thought PSG would have been more of a draw than Man City, and that's trying to be unbiased.  PSG are going to be able to focus more on the CL and they're going to win a title at the least.

But in agreement with earlier posters, think he'll end up staying at Barcelona.

Would have thought PSG would have been more of a draw than Man City, and that's trying to be unbiased.  PSG are going to be able to focus more on the CL and they're going to win a title at the least.

But in agreement with earlier posters, think he'll end up staying at Barcelona.

Could have his legacy in mind when making the decision. Wouldn't surprise me if he feels the need to prove himself again after being embarrassed in the Champions League and Ronaldo seemingly taking more of the limelight in the last few seasons. Going to PSG would probably be seen as a bit of a cop out, winning a couple of titles there (or even a European Cup) wouldn't be seen as much of an achievement in comparison to being a success in the biggest & most watched league on the planet. That said, there is much more risk involved, if he comes to England & doesn't meet expectations then the general consensus would probably be that Ronaldo was the better player

If I were him I'd stay at Barcelona and bow out a legend in a few years time. I think he's the greatest footballer of all time so would be pretty confident of him being a success in England, but there is still that risk of it not going to plan. If he wanted to come to the Premier League he should have done it a few years ago

Could have his legacy in mind when making the decision. Wouldn't surprise me if he feels the need to prove himself again after being embarrassed in the Champions League and Ronaldo seemingly taking more of the limelight in the last few seasons. Going to PSG would probably be seen as a bit of a cop out, winning a couple of titles there (or even a European Cup) wouldn't be seen as much of an achievement in comparison to being a success in the biggest & most watched league on the planet. That said, there is much more risk involved, if he comes to England & doesn't meet expectations then the general consensus would probably be that Ronaldo was the better player

If I were him I'd stay at Barcelona and bow out a legend in a few years time. I think he's the greatest footballer of all time so would be pretty confident of him being a success in England, but there is still that risk of it not going to plan. If he wanted to come to the Premier League he should have done it a few years ago

I agree with the assertion he should have come to the PL years ago. I absolutely think it could not go to plan. Especially the way he sulks when he doesn't get the calls or when things aren't going his way. Although part of me thinks he hears the whispers from certain people that he couldn't duplicate his success in the premier league and that might drive him to want to prove those folks wrong. If he joined City, they can still only play 11 at a time so someone has to sit down. Do you sit down one of their offensive players? Which one? Do you sit one of their more defensive minded players when their defense is already suspect? I think he'd improve them, but I don't think he makes them unstoppable.

No, a contract is only as valid as it's language. Why do you think they need lawyers to read these things and they are usually hundreds of pages long.

If there wasn't sufficient language in there to cover contingencies like a pandemic, then it's up for interpretation and will likely have to be interpreted in court. I'd say Messi has the upper hand because if there is any language in there about "end of season" then the date won't matter. If Messi had to notify them after a date that was presumed to be after the season ended, but in reailty the season hadn't ended by that date....well that's about as clear as mud.

As far as I am aware, only the date was stated, that what the word on the street is.

As for pandemic, come on! why not add in Godzilla, meteor, asteroid, etc. It's called act of god and can not be foreseen.

Barca owe us £5m more for Cou, as he won the CL, the contact, I again believe, did not specify with which club, he was still under contract with Barca, so cough up.

Although part of me thinks he hears the whispers from certain people that he couldn't duplicate his success in the premier league and that might drive him to want to prove those folks wrong.

Yeah, that's my thinking. As I said he's probably watched Ronaldo take a lot of the limelight over last 3 or 4 seasons and due to his own recent lack of success both in Europe and Internationally has decided that a drastic change is needed due to a risk of becoming overshadowed. Obviously there's no better league to prove yourself in than the Premier League, and I'm sure the fact Ronaldo had huge success there will also be a motivating factor if he does decide to join

If he joined City, they can still only play 11 at a time so someone has to sit down. Do you sit down one of their offensive players? Which one? Do you sit one of their more defensive minded players when their defense is already suspect? I think he'd improve them, but I don't think he makes them unstoppable.

I'm not too sure either, he started his career as a winger but he hasn't really played that position for about a decade now. His official position on the Barca teamsheet is a wide forward / winger but he's basically given a free role and regularly picks the ball up from deep positions, essentially playing a lot like a creative midfielder at times. I think if City were to do this then they'd have to pretty much overhaul their tactics as he doesn't play remotely similar to the likes of Sterling or Sane. On the other hand, If they swap him for a midfielder (even one of the more attack-minded ones) then they'll be leaving themselves a lot more exposed at the back as he won't do half the amount of defensive work that De Bruyne, Foden, Silva or Bernardo would. The other option is dropping your forward and using him as a false 9, Pep used him in this way a lot when he was at Barcelona

As far as I am aware, only the date was stated, that what the word on the street is.

As for pandemic, come on! why not add in Godzilla, meteor, asteroid, etc. It's called act of god and can not be foreseen.

Barca owe us £5m more for Cou, as he won the CL, the contact, I again believe, did not specify with which club, he was still under contract with Barca, so cough up.

I read a lot of Business Continuity Plans for my job and yes, acts of God does cover a lot, but all of them have pandemic language, so it's not that out there to think that they should include something very specific about the season start and end date. And maybe they have, you may be right. I'm just thinking that if Messi were to go this route to begin with, his legal team must think there is something there that can be exploited. Unless the aim is as many have said, to pressure the board and president to take a hike.