Messi leaving Barcelona?
One of the biggest fallouts from the Champions League this year has been the demise of Barcelona. A club so often linked with success, they fell 8-2 to eventual champions Bayern Munich in the quarter finals of this year’s competition. From this drastic loss, Barcelona’s Argentinian spear head and captain, Lionel Messi, has indicated that he wants a move away from the Catalonian club. Messi has been at the Nou Camp since he was 13 and has enjoyed a plethora of success winning 33 trophies including ten league titles, four Champions League titles and six Spanish Cup titles. In this time he has also been named Ballon D’or Winner on six occasions, making him one of the greatest players of all time. However, with the lack of success in Europe recently epitomized by the embarrassing losses to Roma, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich in consecutive years, Messi is looking for a new club to continue his success.
Messi has been synonymous with Barcelona but with the heavy defeats and the loss of core players recently such as Xavi and Iniesta, he has been unable to carry the heavy load without them. When asked about Messi chance of leaving Barcelona, Monmouth Men’s Soccer Coach Ian Hatleli claims he will leave if not now, in the next year at least. Women’s Soccer Coach Nick Rizzo agrees and is 100% confident Messi will leave, noting that Barcelona has failed to replace the quality of key players leaving or retiring and repeated mismanagement. These challenges have been a big factor in their gradual decline.
The question then remains, where will Messi end up and should any club be willing to pay for him? According to multiple sources including the Daily Report, Manchester City and Parisienne club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) look to be the front runners in securing the Argentine’s signature. Men’s Soccer player Nico Esparon, a PSG fan, said he would “directly get a season pass” if Messi was to join PSG. However, the Daily Report and ESPN have linked Messi with a potential move to Manchester City to join up with former manager Pep Guardiola. The process will not be easy for Manchester City to sign him. Multiple theories are out there surrounding the cost of Messi. Coach Hatleli hinted at a deal in which City players Eric Garcia, Gabriel Jesus, and Bernardo Silva would be traded for Messi as well as City paying Barcelona over $100 million. Ultimately, this will all depend on Barcelona’s ability to negotiate with a whopping 700 million euros buyout clause as a potential barrier. With the Premier League and other leagues across Europe preparing to commence in the coming weeks, teams will have to move fast if they want Messi in their squad for this season.
Kieren Marshall - Staff Writer