Lionel Messi - v7

[te amo barca]

Messi: "Friends in the dressing room? I get along well with everyone, but especially with the people who have been at the club the longest."

Amigos theory confirmed

Disclaimer for Messi fanboys: Im joking.

 

[fergus90]

Probably waiting until June to see who the president is, who the manager is and where he thinks the club is heading before signing for another year or 2.

 

[Hardy]

Some Barca fans criticized your decision to leave.

Messi: There are a lot of Barca fans who believed in Bartomeu's propaganda and some who still want Valverde back. I am a footballer, I can't treat mental illness.

 

[Neeraj]

Okay so it wasn't that informational if you wanted closure right now. But it was in that if he had already made up his mind to leave he would have said so. But this means the door is open.

And given what he said about the USA, I think he's off to the MLS after barca. Whenever that is.

 

[Horatio]

As I have posted before: He will go approach it on a year to year basis but will probably end up staying few more seasons.

 

[serghei]

Probably waiting until June to see who the president is, who the manager is and where he thinks the club is heading before signing for another year or 2.

Seems to me that his conditions will put the club in a lot of problems in the future. I mean, Neymar?, what the fuck. That's like a poisonous route. We need to continue doing what we did with Pedri and Dest. Try to find more talent for fair prices, until we have funds to make a big move.

And continue to try to get rid of the high earners who don't deliver, are getting older, or don't fit the team.

 

[vuji_31]

I think even he does not know what he will do.

But if they can not get some big names , he will go to make space in wage bill.

If Barca can not bring at least Winnaldum,striker and decent CB he should leave.

 

[Horatio]

So where was the shocking news we were promised.

 

[Devils]

He's definitely gonna stay lol.

-If Laporta wins he's going to convince him to stay as they have a great relationship and Laporta will promise him a great sporting project while he is here.

-If Font wins, Xavi will likely convince him to give it another year and be a leader for the early days of Xavi's Barca.

I've always said this cat isn't going to leave us before the 2022 world cup.

 

[FinBarcelonafan]

So where was the shocking news we were promised.

Well, I am surprised he is still consider Barca.n

 

[xxxxxx]

Probably waiting until June to see who the president is, who the manager is and where he thinks the club is heading before signing for another year or 2.

The problem with that is.... Messi has already confirmed it's going to be extremely difficult for Barcelona to compete regardless of who the president is. He knows whoever comes in that we're not going to have any money or the team to compete next season. We probably can't even afford to let Koeman go next season. Another thing, we can't afford to pay Messi next season. Realistically, if Messi wants to stay, he's going to take at least a 50% salary reduction.

We're not going to win anything this season. If anything, we're probably going to finish outside the top 2 in the league and lose to PSG.

I feel he'll leave in the summer to City. There he can have a team that can compete, and they can also afford to pay him a big salary. He'll also be playing under Pep. Although, he could stay and ride it out. He'll be 34.... and he might not want to play in another country.

 

[Devils]

Shame the interviewer didn't ask him about the likes of Pedri/Ansu/Araujo...would have liked to hear what he would have to say about them.

 

[tacticvarium]

Hope he changes his mind if he is considering staying. It's nothing more than a pure waste.

 

[serghei]

The problem with that is.... Messi has already confirmed it's going to be extremely difficult for Barcelona to compete regardless of who the president is. He knows whoever comes in that we're not going to have any money or the team to compete next season. We probably can't even afford to let Koeman go next season. Another thing, we can't afford to pay Messi next season. Realistically, if Messi wants to stay, he's going to take at least a 50% salary reduction.

We're not going to win anything this season. If anything, we're probably going to finish outside the top 2 in the league and lose to PSG.

I feel he'll leave in the summer to City. There he can have a team that can compete, and they can also afford to pay him a big salary. He'll also be playing under Pep. Although, he could stay and ride it out. He'll be 34.... and he might not want to play in a other country.

Thing is he's approaching this from a selfish perspective. What do you do for ME to continue, give me something to stay, to challenge for X or Y. Not really a position for a true captain. There are legit club leaders and legends like Totti, Gerrard, and so on, who've spent almost their whole career at the same club out of loyalty and leadership, even if their level was much higher than that of the team.

To me, Messi is not a leader, and never will be. Much too selfish for that.

 

[Neeraj]

While I have clearly been in the 'Messi is hindering us' camp, I think there are ways to make it work.

If used correctly and with the correct kind of players around him, Messi is still a great player. The problem is, aside from the significant overhaul that is needed, you need a manager who has not only the balls but the mandate to bench Messi.

It needs to be "Messi first sub off" strategy. You need to keep looking for ways to not play him, than the other way around. Saved up for big games, asked to run more for 60 minutes before being subbed off, have a clear plan instead of this 'floating role', not playing Copa games, etc. You do all of this, and I'm more than happy for him to stay with us until he goes to MLS.

However, those of us who think it's best for him to leave are mostly pessimistic about that happening. If it's a similar Messi-centric approach next year, then we're screwed.