Messi and a damning indictment of Barca
Some two weeks after Lionel Messi told Barcelona that he was intent on leaving, one of the greatest footballers of all time performed a U-turn. The Argentine, on Friday, said he was staying back. But the Catalans shouldn’t see this as a victory, even if they have managed to keep hold of the 33-year-old till the end of his contract. Messi’s words are a damning indictment of the way the club is run.
He said: “I always said I wanted to end here and I always said I wanted to stay here. That I wanted a winning project and to win titles with the club, to continue expanding the legend of Barcelona. And the truth is that there has been no project or anything for a long time, they juggle and cover holes as things go by. As I said before, I always thought about the welfare of my family and the club.” He has basically accused Barcelona, one of the great modern superclubs, of lacking a project and said he is staying there only because he doesn’t want to tarnish his legacy by taking them to court.
By deciding against his original stance of wanting to walk out immediately, he has essentially bullet-proofed his farewell with the fans, even if the club went trophyless for the first time in more than a decade.
Barcelona’s ills have been well documented—the periodic humiliations in the Champions League, off-field drama at the board level and incompetent dealings in the transfer market all contributed to Messi wanting out.
With a new coach in Ronald Koeman and a belated desire to move ageing superstars (Gerard Pique and Luis Suarez among others) to rejuvenate the squad, now is the chance to give Messi, who has gone without a Champions League title since 2015, a parting gift in his final year at the club. No player is entitled to trophies but having forced Messi to stay against his will, the least the club can do is to start righting the wrongs of the last four-five years. For Messi himself, whose last game for the club was a 2-8 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, 2020-21 will give him a last chance at the perfect redemption storyline that befits a player of his calibre.