A year ago he wanted to leave, now he is obviously leaving involuntarily. Lionel Messi needs a new club after more than 20 years in Barcelona. But only a few can (or want to) afford the world star.
The recovery from family vacation in Florida and Ibiza – then. Even if Messi has the football world more or less at his feet, the now 34-year-old has never been in a situation like this. Just a few weeks after he finally celebrated his first big title with the Argentine national team at the Copa America, Messi is now looking for a job after the failed negotiations with FC Barcelona. And that – this has been the tenor of the media from Messi’s adopted home for 21 years – involuntarily.
A year ago he wanted to leave, with all his might and absolutely. But now everything had indicated that after a few weeks without a contract he would shortly be signing a new one. The Catalan broadcaster RAC1 reported that he had wanted to stay at Barça and had not negotiated with any other club so far, assuring that Messi was “deeply affected”. The failure of the negotiations was clearly not part of Messi’s future plans.
Lionel Messi’s next stop: Two clubs are hot
Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have already been named as possible new employers for the Argentine in the international media. According to a report from Sky Sport Italia, there was even an initial contact with the top French club.
Barça President Joan Laporta now wants to comment on the failure of the negotiations in a press conference on Friday morning. The official justification of the association – statutes of the league prevented a new cooperation – raises questions. One of Spain’s most famous and respected football commentators, Julio Maldonado, wrote on Twitter: “This is a very hard blow not only for FC Barcelona but also for the league.”
Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid and the Primera División three years ago, now it is likely to be Messi. “How could you put yourself in such a predicament?” Asked former English professional and now TV expert Gary Lineker.
Messi transfer a “great soap opera”?
Later that evening, FC Barcelona also published a video, a tribute to the player who came to Barcelona from Rosario in Argentina in 2000 as a 13-year-old and shaped the club like no other. Over seven minutes, just the best of Messi, who won 35 titles with the club, is the top scorer with 672 goals in the club’s 121-year history and has played 778 games. It won’t get any more.
France’s sports newspaper “L’Équipe” already predicted the “great soap opera” of this summer as far as the future club of the South American is concerned. At PSG in Paris, Messi would celebrate a reunion with his former Barcelona teammate Neymar and compatriot Angel di Maria. But also Manchester City should continue and according to “Marca” now even be the first option, especially since Pep Guardiola continues to train there and thus the coach under whom Messi really flourished in Barcelona.
Football fans hardly dare to imagine which team could play there in the end, after the club had only brought England international Jack Grealish from Aston Villa on Thursday evening for a record fee of around 118 million euros. In the case of Messi, only the – albeit generous – salary would be due. But there is also speculation whether he might now be able to move to Inter Miami, David Beckham’s club in the American MLS, and a “millionaire experience” in Qatar before the World Cup at the end of next year did not rule out “El Mundo deportivo”.
Messi has to decide. Messi has lived on the coast in Castelldefels south of Barcelona for a long time with his wife and three sons and feels at home there. So what now, Lionel Messi?
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
