Real Madrid have their priorities right. Building a team with players that are quality right now and will be at their prime in a few years when most of our players are past it. For all the talk about Messi's time and how people want to capitalize fully on it, they're failing to realize that all the players we're buying at around the age of 30, will need to be replaced in 3-4 years, when Leo is still with us and still quality.
We'll lose atleast a year or two with replacing all those players and would probably have to overpay a lot too since our hand would be forced to make all those signings.
We'll need to sign a LB, a CB or two and a CM most probably and it certainly wouldn't hurt if we bought young quality players with a very high ceiling for those positions, but it seem like many people incl those at the club are satisfied with players that are great right now, but close to 30 and will start declining very soon. Short sightedness.
Real Madrid don't have Messi.
They can build their long term future and do experiments (even though I wouldn't call Kovacic as an experiment).
The same as when our team was crap in early 00's, it was easy back then to put a young Valdes, young Motta, young Xavi, young Oleguer in the team.
We were crap.
No matter whom we bought, we were crap.
So, then instead of losing with expensive, foreign players, we decided to give a chance to young Valdes and co.
Or, when we have +20 points advantage in La Liga, it is easy to give chances to young guns in those matches...
So, you see, there are 100s of differents scenarios.
Sometimes it is "easier" to give chances to youngsters.
Sometimes it is easier to plan a long term team etc.
Sometimes, once in 1000 years, you get a guy like Messi, and during his career, we will probably win more CL trophies than in the next 50 or 100 years.
I don't want to be "I told you so guy", but just wait 3-4 years when Messi will be gone and when we will have a new generation of players with Neymar, Pogba or whoever.
You will then realize how painful it was ALWAYS in our history to be a Barca's fan, before Messi stepped in.
About NOT signing younger players, I was usually posting how we don't need a 100M risky (for Barca) Pogba in this moment.
Or insanely risky players like unproven Gerson for 15-20 Millions and similar.
But to buy a long term gem once in a while (for cheaper sums, like 30M), like Kova and similar (especially since he would be a squad player for us now) is not THAT bad.
But yes, if you ask me, I would rather buy Turan's, Verm's, Methieu's and similar guys for the Messi's final 3-4-5 years than guys like Pogba and Gerson.
But anyway, the day when Messi will be gone will come soon.
And then matches like in a preseason when we played like idiots without Ney and Messi will be a usual thing.
We will play more or less EXACTLY like that. Except that we will have Ney in our team, but he alone won't do anything without Messi.
Anyway guys, you should enjoy these 3-4 years.
The next treble, sextuple and similar (without Messi) will come probably in 2080 or something like that.
So, don't trash our board too hard because they are building a team for short-term/today.
I would do the same, without any hesitation.
People don't understand what/who is Messi (Air Jordan) and how will the world look like when he will be gone.
