He needs world players around him to perform at his best. A fraud. I tought Pogba was the only one that needed that to perform
Lionel Messi
- Thread starter Scarecrow
- Start date
I think it's a goner unless Argentina get's a great manager and the rest players start playing to their full potential. Messi's too old to lead them to glory without them being a great team.
Qatar will want the Argentina v Portugal final that’d cause the collapse of civilization.
And they have enough natural gas to pay for it.
I'm sure Messi would have real trouble getting into a team managed by Pep Guardiola.
The only way Messi would move to City:
a) Gets severely downplayed by Barça's current board ("are you calling me old?") while pestering him about his huge wage.
b) Gets booed by the Camp Nou (after another bad UCL campaign, maybe)
c) Guardiola assures the team will be built around him even as a 32 yo
a) Gets severely downplayed by Barça's current board ("are you calling me old?") while pestering him about his huge wage.
b) Gets booed by the Camp Nou (after another bad UCL campaign, maybe)
c) Guardiola assures the team will be built around him even as a 32 yo
It says a lot when Barca being knocked out in the semi's is a poor season.
The 4-0 at Anfield was unacceptable, especially after that 3-0 vs Roma previous season. And the 4-0 at Paris. And the 3-0 vs Juve. Or Atlético being better in 2014 and 2016.
Enough!
WTF are they asking Alan Bloody Pardew for?
Messi would weaken City in a way. They have so much offensive power, they dont need him. Look at the bench He would disrupt their pressing and defensive organisation. Once he isnt good enough for Barca, he will move to Argentina or China/USA. he wont be moving to any other European team in the next few years as long as he can offer quite a bit still. Just like Xavi and Iniesta, he will move to a different continent. He will be finished physically by that point.
He would disrupt their pressing and defensive organisation. Once he isnt good enough for Barca, he will move to Argentina or China/USA. he wont be moving to any other European team in the next few years as long as he can offer quite a bit still. Just like Xavi and Iniesta, he will move to a different continent. He will be finished physically by that point.Yeah, the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Mahrez, Silva,, Bernardo Silva, are far more important players for tham than Messi would ever be. They should bring Pedro ahead of him, he qould give them extra dimension.
Yeah just throw Messi in and he will do it, look at Argentina. Oh wait...
You have to make a lot of sacrifices for this version of Messi, just like Juve with Ronaldo, on and off the pitch. I am sure Pep prefers his 8 attacking players that he can rotate and they give him pressing and much more different options tactically than having Messi, who is central to everything. Individually there is no comparison, but team wise you lose something. I am pretty sure you see that as well.
If it wasn't for Messi Barca wouldn't have even won the La Liga last season. He's basically 50% of that team. Take him out and Barca are only a top 4 contender
Of course, he builts a team around every player, why wouldn't he tweak something because of Messi?
They play different ways when they play Gabriel Jesus instead of Aguero, so why wouldn't he make some changes if he had to throw Messi there?
I am quite sure he would replace any two players from this current City team for 2 years of Messi, he is the player that won him CL, trophy that is still unachievable from this City team. And he would easily win another PL with Messi too instead of some players.
Not really. You cant take Messi out and say they wouldnt be as good. They would replace Messi with one or two high class players, that would also offer more for the team defensively and maybe have more shared responsibility . They would walk the league anyway. Assuming Neymar comes in, they will walk the league, regardless of Messi. Their midfield and a front trio of Neymar, Griezmann and Suarez would blow the league away.
The issue with Barca is they go through Messi and Suarez, so that they dont exploit the potential of other players (Coutinho, Dembele). The issue is Barca have Messi for 95% of games and they cant play without him anymore. They arent able to switch with or without him from game to game if they have to, thats how reliant they are on him. If you suddenly take him out, they are clueless, event hough their players are great. Messi is great and against Eibar and Rayo Vallecano, it doesnt matter what sacrifices the team has to make. But in the CL quarter and semi finals, his off the ball (and Suarez more and more by the way) liability and reliance to perform all the time is costing them big time. An off day and they are out. Valverde is obviously not without fault. Messi is at a point, where he still offers enough with the ball, but at some point his lack of defensive duties and physical decline will be greater than his offensive contributions, and then they will have to get rid of him. Barca are trying to buy the CL trophy and add as many stars as possible to overcome the shortage and disfunctionality of their team. Basically outscore them. Their offensive players will win the games, but their best signing was De Jong, who will be vital in keeping the ball and midfield together, in order for the attackers to have a platform to perform. They got done twice away to Roma and Liverpool in similar fashion, and Valverde couldnt set the team up with Messi and Suarez to not get battered.
It is a headache for him. he is a perfectionist, and benching Aguero is different to benching Messi. They would walk the league with or without Messi anyway. If they would win the CL with him is another matter, they have such a great team and structure now, that Messi would almost not be needed as funny as it sounds.
Where does all this "Messi needs the team to be built around him" nonsense come from? Messi started as an inverted right winger under Guardiola, then moved to the 9 when there was a vacant spot, then moved back to the right when Suarez was brought in, then played as a second striker in Valverde's 4-4-2 after Neymar left, then occasionally played as a number 10 when Barca was in serious lack of creativity through the center and ultimately moved back to the right wing. All while scoring 40+ goals and 15+ assists a season. He had great partnerships with all sorts of players: Alves, Alba, Xavi, Iniesta, Neymar, Suarez, Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Pedro, even fecking Paulinho. You will hardly find any player who functioned in so many different setups.
The idea alone that City would be worse with him is utterly ridiculous. No, he's not going to run 14 km like Bernardo Silva but Messi's still one of the players who make the most fast runs on average in 90 minutes and very good at pressing if he chooses too. Oh, and he'll add 30+ goals easily to that City side all while contributing more than any other player on top of that.
I know it's boring and I understand if one wants some change at the top but you probably have to wait probably another two years until that happens.
The idea alone that City would be worse with him is utterly ridiculous. No, he's not going to run 14 km like Bernardo Silva but Messi's still one of the players who make the most fast runs on average in 90 minutes and very good at pressing if he chooses too. Oh, and he'll add 30+ goals easily to that City side all while contributing more than any other player on top of that.
I know it's boring and I understand if one wants some change at the top but you probably have to wait probably another two years until that happens.
Indeed.
They are calling for valverdes head despite walking the league again and getting in the the semi's in the CL. Look at our standards. Getting top 4 is our CL after 800 mil spent on transfers post fergie.
This is the real question here
I am with you on this plus I feel he does not need to do much running as his understanding of the game is just on a different level. He just sees things before other players. Messi will never leave Barcelona but there is a good chance Pep could return.
While clubs know that he probably wouldn't move to them, it baffles me that no one has ever made a bid!
I don't think any clubs ever made a bid for Scholes because he was never interested in leaving. I think when a club makes a bid they might have been sounded out by an agent first just to see what the chances are.
I'm not sure if Messi would fit into Manchester City at this present moment in time. Pep Guardiola's Manchester City uses a very aggressive positional play and involves high pressing and constant off the ball movement, something Messi has not doen regularly for 3+ years. Barcelona have had Messi all this time and bar one season in 2015 since Pep Guardiola left, they have been less than impressive in the Champions League.
At his age, Manchester City would have to be built around him as he cannot be the cog in a functioning team but 'The Cog' of the team, which won't work for Manchester City. Also, Pep Guardiola has a lot of power at Manchester City, much more than he did at Barcelona and certainly Bayern Munchen. If Messi came, Pep Guardiola would have to almost put the team in service of Messi.
It's a trade off between Messi's great individual characteristics vs City's current attacking structure that favours 'the system' over any player. I honestly think he would not take this iteration over Messi and risk upsetting the balance City currently has.
Well he does in big games which he rarely does. One of the main reasons Barcelona have gotten beaten heavily in the last few years is down to Messi walking whilst his team is in the defensive phase. Look at the intensity of the semi finalists. Liverpool, Ajax and Tottenham ran themselves into the ground. At the highest level, walking constantly does not cut it. Even Ronaldo runs in the big games for Juventus.
Pep Guardiola has repeatedly said he will never be the first team coach of Barcelona again and with the 'anti-cruijffistas' running the club, he will never return.
At his age, Manchester City would have to be built around him as he cannot be the cog in a functioning team but 'The Cog' of the team, which won't work for Manchester City. Also, Pep Guardiola has a lot of power at Manchester City, much more than he did at Barcelona and certainly Bayern Munchen. If Messi came, Pep Guardiola would have to almost put the team in service of Messi.
It's a trade off between Messi's great individual characteristics vs City's current attacking structure that favours 'the system' over any player. I honestly think he would not take this iteration over Messi and risk upsetting the balance City currently has.
Well he does in big games which he rarely does. One of the main reasons Barcelona have gotten beaten heavily in the last few years is down to Messi walking whilst his team is in the defensive phase. Look at the intensity of the semi finalists. Liverpool, Ajax and Tottenham ran themselves into the ground. At the highest level, walking constantly does not cut it. Even Ronaldo runs in the big games for Juventus.
Pep Guardiola has repeatedly said he will never be the first team coach of Barcelona again and with the 'anti-cruijffistas' running the club, he will never return.
Stopped reading after the first sentence.
In the big games, he still was the difference with Liverpool at Camp Nou. It's not Messi's fault that Barca's back line lost their marbles and conceded 4 at Anfield, 2 of them in comical fashion. Can Messi be blamed for Jordi Alba shitting the bed, or Pique/Langlet turning their back on a corner, or for Suarez's (and Dembele's and Vidal's) profligacy in front of goal time and time and time again. It's a team game and somehow you're equating everything with running a lot but forgetting the specific roles each player has to fulfill on the pitch.
That makes sense. I wonder if he has a release clause, which any club could trigger, like Arsenal tried to do with Vardy.
Messi would weaken City in a way. They have so much offensive power, they dont need him. Look at the bench
To Newell's. And he will win the Apertura/Clausura.
found this
https://www.skysports.com/football/...ter-scholes-bid-is-quotmission-impossiblequot
https://www.xtratime.org/forum/22-manchester-united/9732-inter-bid-%A331m-scholes.html
so was there ever an official bid or just paper talk?
I am pretty certain there wasn't. Sir Alex said in his autobiography that no bid was received because everyone knew he was not interested in leaving.
Giggs on other hand thought he might be going after the poorest spell of his career. He was even being booed off when subbed. Becks went instead.
Messi?
Apparently it is 700 million Euros.
I think Ronaldo had a large release clause as well but Juventus came no where near reaching the value when they purchased him. I suspect the release clauses are more to ward of unwanted bids.
Probably paper talk.
Barça probably makes it higher at every contract renewal anyway
Scores the most goals, assists the most goals, creates the most opportunities, scores the most free kicks in Europe's top 5 leagues but no, he wouldnt improve City. Also Barcelona wouldnt be worse without him, they would just replace the greatest player that has ever played for the club (by far) with other two great players.
Man...
Man...
Last edited by a moderator:
for shake of EPL's competitiveness and our safety, I hope he never plays for City.
Although I would love a two season of Messi at United.
Although I would love a two season of Messi at United.
Messi would weaken City in a way. They have so much offensive power, they dont need him. Look at the bench
I'm pretty sure if Messi wants to come to City, Pep would have offered half of his City team for him. The idea of having one of the best player to ever play football weaken the team is incredibly idiotic
But Pep's got Phoden, the kid would probably bench Messi
As I recall, before high and intense pressing was even a thing in this league, Messi was part of of Pep's........you guessed it, high intensity and high press Barcelona side. If he didn't disrupt them then he won't disrupt City. Pep will just do what he did before and make Messi false 9.
A team becoming weaker with a player like Messi... I've seen everything now.