Stop trying to reinvent the wheel over and over man. Nobody is perfect, neither is Messi, but he is the least of our problems. The question is, why are you so committed to repeat what his shortcomings are, while connecting those
to our lack of CL trophies in recent years and at the same time ignoring the true reasons. The ones you call "alibis".
It just makes you look like you are starving for attention.
Maybe because there isn't ONLY ONE reason for our failures.
The simplest thing is to say:
= we lost because of EV and Rakitic
Ok, fine.
But Dembele's 2 misses at 3:0 also didn't help.
Busi being finished, slow and complacent also isn't helping.
Suarez being horrible in CL matches also didn't help.
Not having a RB also didn't help.
Messi being a weaker version of himself for years in away matches also didn't help.
Alba playing like an idiot in a key match, also didn't help etc.
Why do we need to have only 1 or 2 reasons/scapegoats?
Ok, some players/coaches are more guilty.
But still, a lot of players and a lot of factors are guilty also.
Have I said in any part of my posts that Messi isn't a Goat or our best player, or a best player in any CL campaign?
I have just said that even Messi is guilty for some things in key away CL matches.
Someone will reply: lol, if we didn't have Messi, we wouldn't win anything.
True, but the same as how Messipendencia is bringining trophies against Getafe, then in a CL, Messipendencia is a reason why we are easily neutralized by bigger teams.
A reason for wins in one circumstance is a reason for your failure on a higher level...
At Camp Nou matches in a CL, we are attacking all the time and we have 100 000 supporters and refs on our side.
Messi doesn't have to drop as deep to get the ball and we usually have a lot of shots.
On away matches=we don't have as much possession.
Our opponents are usually hostile, dirty, aggressive and motivated. Supporters (and often refs) are on their side (of a dirtier football).
In those situations, we don't have as much possession and as much shots.
Messi usually have to drop deeper than at Camp Nou matches since we have less possession.
That means that he is neutralized easier since he drops deep and then he is man marked by 2-3 players.
When he is man marked from the game, we can't create too much.
Then we concede a goal, and then again we can't create too much.
Then Messi goes into a sulking mode.
And then, since we don't know how to play without Messi (and especially without IN FORM Messi), we just play even worse and worse, we are passing every ball to him.
And yet he is losing confidence, he is moving even less and less off the ball.
And our team is ruining more and more actions and Messi's and our overall (already fragile confidence) drops even more.
So, add:
1. Messipendencia
2. more physical and dirty football from home team (opponents)
3. 100 000 local fans
4. less possession
5. our team with already weak mental strength for years
6. frustrated Messi dropping deeper and deeper
7. Messi who drops deep being man marked by 2-3 players
8. conceding easy goals and not being able to create too much after that
= and voila, you get a team which is losing 0:3 and 0:4 on every away game, Messi who can't do anything, Messi who sulks and a whole team can't create anything.
Now, you can blame only EV and Raki for everything.
But similar problems and patterns in our team existed way before EV and Raki in our team.
So, my point is:
1. a mental strength of our team is also a huge problem
2. and Messi's mental strength is also a problem and he is quite fragile lately when things start to go bad in key away KO matches
In terms of mental strength, he is just a human.
