He isn't done physically, thats nonsense, he's lost some explosiveness and pace but thats normal, he's 31 now, he still has great acceleration (look at his goal in the world cup) on the first few metres.
Again, i don't get this obsession with his running or wanting to change his position.
He just had another succesfull season and is still playing more or less the same as he always has.
What the hell do you people expect? A treble every season?
The only thing i agree with is that he won't get better physically but thats normal, no one really does after 30.
Let me be clear, so there is no misunderstanding.
We are talking about tactical options, not Messi as a person/player.
Having said that, i don t accept that he has no stamina to play position x. The guy is one of the best paid pro athletes on the planet. He should be in optimal shape. I think he hasn t lost much speed.
Also, i don t understand why he wouldn t be able to play as RW or CAM in the 3 man midfield. His skill diversity is a feature, that s just screaming to be exploited. In fact, it is this feature, that made me think he is going to age better, than CR.
Let me answer your question. I agree with you, the last season was a success. But this is Barca, we want to play beautiful football on a highest possible level and win everything. In order to do so, we have to think one step ahead, which Pep did.
After that, we went through "sleep mode", while Xavi-Iniesta-Alves faded. The treble with fresh Neymar/Suarez was an uptick, but the dependence on Leo only got stronger. Let s not repeat that fading cycle again. We are only discussing different options for our main player. If tactical dependency on him is reduced, which is a main issue, it s quite possible, we can have him play similarly to last season.
Personally, i would like to see him in MF. Imagine having problems with creativity, with him in the centre and Coutinho and Dembele on wings. The opposition would have to set the "Messi wall" in the centre, which would open space on the flanks. Perfect. I think this is the easiest way to solve our midfield problem. Just get one Kante type guy near him and it s done. Finding the right combination of MF players is apparently much more difficult than it sounds, since this is an issue for quite some time now. Why not have the best player on the planet right in the heart of the team?
