Lionel Messi

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I get he’s one of the greatest ever.. but the rumoured £250m a week plus however much in wages (500k per week? More?).. It’s a hell of a lot of money for a 33 year old.

They’re clearly going all in for the champions league
 
Feed Me said:
Silly thing to do if this is going down the legal route. I’m sure Barca will clock this up under some sort of breach of contract clause.
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Well, Messi's position is clear: he's no longer a Barca player so he has no reason to go there.

Anyway, The Atlantic posted an article in early February that City believe they can sign Messi this summer so clearly something's been happening there.
 
Feed Me said:
Silly thing to do if this is going down the legal route. I’m sure Barca will clock this up under some sort of breach of contract clause.
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Legally if his position is that his contract is null and void then hes doing the right thing not showing up for work
 
sewey89 said:
I get he’s one of the greatest ever.. but the rumoured £250m a week plus however much in wages (500k per week? More?).. It’s a hell of a lot of money for a 33 year old.

They’re clearly going all in for the champions league
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City can spend how much ever they want, it's a joke and with FFP being a non-issue, no one can stop them. Messi's on a million a week btw, City just dont give a feck.
 
Barca’s decline will be like skiing down Mount Everest. More players will jump ship after this.
 
nokillingmoths said:
It's over. He's going to city.
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To be honest, I’m ok with that. If he was 6 years younger I’d be devastated. I think however we have moved on from these short term solutions. If we get Sancho I’ll be delighted and it clearly highlights what we are trying to do here: build for the future.
 
Bratt said:
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Leo, Leo, Leo... what have you done, mate? Talking about shitting all over a legacy.

The Barcelona fans may be on your side now, and not blame you for this debacle, but when you leave and the club inevitably descends into chaos and turmoil, struggling to compete and in financial ruin from funding your exorbitant salary year after year, and eventually go on a 1/2/3/4/5 season barren run, then they’ll come after you.

In the fullness of time, I believe this will be judged a huge mistake from Messi.
 
Both Messi and Barca are tarnishing their reputation, legacy and relationship in this drama. Lovely to see. Hope it gets more ugly and there is court case.
 
If I was a Barcelona fan, I'd be furious with how he's handled the entire situation.
 
Adisa said:
How else could he have handled it?
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Show more professionalism to a club that's given you the platform to become who you are?

He could have showed up to the testing today.

I don't know about the legality of that release clause, but he had to have known it'd cause a ruckus with the club by communicating a desire to leave after the 'date' passed by.
 
Eddy_JukeZ said:
Show more professionalism to a club that's given you the platform to become who you are?

He could have showed up to the testing today.

I don't know about the legality of that release clause, but he had to have known it'd cause a ruckus with the club by communicating a desire to leave after the 'date' passed by.
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Showing up to the testing could be intepreted as a conclusive acceptance of an existing contract. His stance is that the contract is null and void so this was the only thing he could do.
 
Eddy_JukeZ said:
Show more professionalism to a club that's given you the platform to become who you are?

He could have showed up to the testing today.

I don't know about the legality of that release clause, but he had to have known it'd cause a ruckus with the club by communicating a desire to leave after the 'date' passed by.
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In his mind, the contract is terminated so showing up doesn't make sense.
He isn't asking for a transfer.
 
This board chased away they're best manager in Pep and now about to chase away there best player Messi. I genuinely have no issue with that crap they face, nevertheless i fear for them and their families if Messi goes, people will seek vengeance and blood.
 
amazon must be kicking themselves. Filming a whole season of Tottenham playing crap and Jose being Jose. Only to overshadowed by Messi going full gangsta on Barca. I hope someone internally is recording all the conversations, they'll make a fortune.
 
The key to all this is whether Messi has in his contract the ability to walk away at the 'end of the season' or 'in May'. If the words state 'end of the season', there is a reasonable legal argument that due to the unique circumstances of the current league season, he made his feelings known at the end of the season.
 
Ranchero said:
The key to all this is whether Messi has in his contract the ability to walk away at the 'end of the season' or 'in May'. If the words state 'end of the season', there is a reasonable legal argument that due to the unique circumstances of the current league season, he made his feelings known at the end of the season.
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Pretty much this, one is legally binding and specific in legal terms.

Just like 'customer agrees to pay contractor at the end of the year' is somewhat arguable over if its december or september, versus 'by midnight on 11th November'.

Covid extended the season so if it's 'end of the season' then he's leaving.

Messi wouldn't have filed this document if he wasn't within his legal rights, he will have a team of lawyers, no way is he at Barca next season.
 
Is Messi going to City really that bad for us?

I know FFP is useless but surely if they get Messi then they’ll not be getting the players in they really need over the next couple of years such as CB, CDM, CF due to his huge wages, let alone having to let some very good players go potentially due to lack of game time such as Foden, Mahrez, B Silva?

If they get him and it doesn’t work out it could easily turn into a very bad decision over the next few years.

I just don’t see how they can get Messi, Upgrade other positions they need to and keep very good players happy on the bench, especially IF Messi doesn’t work out, by which I mean PL & CL in each of his seasons.
 
Eddy_JukeZ said:
Show more professionalism to a club that's given you the platform to become who you are?
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The club have done very well out of it but clubs just dump players all of the time, just like companies. All this loyalty and professionalism doesn’t work both ways when it comes to retention so you may as well forget it.
 
Buchan said:
Leo, Leo, Leo... what have you done, mate? Talking about shitting all over a legacy.

The Barcelona fans may be on your side now, and not blame you for this debacle, but when you leave and the club inevitably descends into chaos and turmoil, struggling to compete and in financial ruin from funding your exorbitant salary year after year, and eventually go on a 1/2/3/4/5 season barren run, then they’ll come after you.

In the fullness of time, I believe this will be judged a huge mistake from Messi.
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Messi could take a dump on the senyera and half of them would call it an improvement

God can do no wrong
 
Kasper said:
It`s about as creative as opening with "You`re displaying cognitive dissonance at its finest" and given that you ignore the majority of what I wrote and instead keep moving the goalpost its still accurate I`d say.
You started with the claim that City are where they are because of innovation, progressive thinking and other nonsense and not because of the money. I simply pointed out that`s rubbish and why its exclusively down to money. I never said they`ve used their money in a horrible way and I never dismissed the fact that others are using money in an even worse way.
That still does not change the fact that what City has done is simply down to money and not because they`ve been "smarter". And from the 3 clubs you named, Barca and PSG have actually achieved the same or better over the last decade given that they actually won the CL or reached the final, unlike the single semi-final City has achieved. So if you go by success metrics, City have not been more successfull than Barca and PSG which makes the whole "They`ve been run more intelligently" stance even more dubious. But I guess you`ll write a third paragraph on why City is a fantastic well run club because after all, bad boys United spent almost as much and have been worse. Great line of thinking that...
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See, you can be as tongue-in-cheek as you like, you're still contradicting yourself. So you have to decide, either it's "exclusively down to money" or "others are using money in an even worse way". You can't have it both. I mean, you quite literally agreed that they've been using their money smarter than those clubs with similar expenditures in the last years. You pretty much agreed with me that they're using it smarter than United, PSG and Barca, the remaining question is how smart it actually was.

And yes, Barca did pretty okay until Bartomeu took over. Since then, they've definitely been managed more poorly than City with the Griezmann, Dembele and Coutinho transfers. And PSG made it to a final after defeating Dortmund, Atalanta and Leipzig. This final would've been a must even without the Mbappe and Neymar transfers. City's 17/18 and 18/19 league seasons are bigger accomplishments. They've been the best EPL team in history.


MalcolmTucker said:
Agreed.

The correct term is sport-washing, human rights abusing, draconian regime and financial doping clubs.
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That's a far better argument against City, by the way. The people backing them are absolutely despicable. That being said, you'll have a hard time finding clubs that aren't involved in those things. Sure, not to the same extent as City, but almost every club out there nowadays happily accepts support from the sheikhs. Bayern with their training camps, Barca, Real and Arsenal with their sponsoring deals and so forth. And not only that, those investors participate in so many companies present in our daily life and of products we buy everyday. The world cup in Quatar which I'm sure will be boycotted by almost nobody in here is just the tip of the iceberg in all that. Yes, City is sort of the personification of all that but it's not consequent to criticize them and blatantly ignore all the other impact those despicable governments have on our economy.
 
Terminator said:
So a 50 goal season coming up for Messi if he goes to City? How can opposing teams even mark him out of the games when they have KDB, Bernardo Silva, Sterling etc.., to defend against. Fecking nuts and it feel so unfair.
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Very much doubt Messi will have a goalscoring cakewalk in the PL as all the attention will be on him and every team and every defensive player on and around him will see it as the pinnacle of their career to try and stop him - not that they necessarily can, but with his age and slowing down, him being up for all that hustle and bustle in the pursuit of goals is, I think, less likely than his assist numbers going even higher.. Double and triple teams are inevitable, what should happen in the meantime, however, is him finding a bazillion ways to slot others in who will be in acres of space due to his mere presence elsewhere on the pitch.

Unless City switch to a 4-4-2 or 3-5-2, Aguero's about to lose his spot, I think... the RWF position seems to be mentioned for Messi in association with the main body of his work, but that move into the centre of the pitch is looming, and Pep won't have that lack of graft out on a flank otherwise De Bruyne would be compromised or in need of moving for a CM minder for Messi, which is not Pep's style.
 
Buchan said:
Leo, Leo, Leo... what have you done, mate? Talking about shitting all over a legacy.

The Barcelona fans may be on your side now, and not blame you for this debacle, but when you leave and the club inevitably descends into chaos and turmoil, struggling to compete and in financial ruin from funding your exorbitant salary year after year, and eventually go on a 1/2/3/4/5 season barren run, then they’ll come after you.

In the fullness of time, I believe this will be judged a huge mistake from Messi.
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90% of the fanbase wouldn’t care and probably even cease to exist as they would be too busy supporting City.
 
On another note, watching a reinvigorated Messi who has a point to prove will be interesting to see what he's got left in the tank in terms of aggression, desire and the pursuit of new records and personal achievements.
 
Ollie Derbyshire said:
let alone having to let some very good players go potentially due to lack of game time such as Foden, Mahrez, B Silva?
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I would say messi plays every game he's fit.. and I would say he'll play either false 9 and demote Jesus/Aguero or play as an attacking #8 and demote Foden/Bernardo Silva. I'd say the latter is more likely.

De Bruyne plays as he's magic. So Foden will be the biggest loser here as City will have Torres, Mahrez, and Benardo for the right wing, and Sterling and Torres for the left wing leaving the midfield with the problems fitting everyone in.

I said ages ago Foden needed to leave to get proper game time and I obviously had a u-turn once I knew David Silva was leaving. Now.. I'm thinking Foden is going to struggle again.
 
(Assuming the deal is done)

Lots of people are arguing that Messi will tarnish his legacy if he leaves for England. I see it differently. If Messi helps Manchester City win the Champions League, and say, he wins another Ballon d'Or, he firmly establishes himself as the GOAT who will be remembered as someone who did it season after season in Spain, and for a few seasons in England at the end of his career. If City don't win anything, his legacy will definitely be tarnished. That ad nauseam analogy of not doing it in a cold, wet evening at Stoke will forever remain.

Everything depends on how well City perform in the next two/three years. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see arguably the greatest player each week in the English League. I hope this deal goes through, even if it means we won't win anything for the next 1/2 years, which we wouldn't have anyway.
 
TheNewEra said:
Pretty much this, one is legally binding and specific in legal terms.

Just like 'customer agrees to pay contractor at the end of the year' is somewhat arguable over if its december or september, versus 'by midnight on 11th November'.

Covid extended the season so if it's 'end of the season' then he's leaving.

Messi wouldn't have filed this document if he wasn't within his legal rights, he will have a team of lawyers, no way is he at Barca next season.
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Even if it specifically said May, I think his legal team could still prove the spirit of the clause was that the intention must be stated following their last game of the season and prior to their first game of the next season. On the balance of probabilities, a reasonable person would understand the intention of a May date.
 
TheLord said:
(Assuming the deal is done)

Lots of people are arguing that Messi will tarnish his legacy if he leaves for England. I see it differently. If Messi helps Manchester City win the Champions League, and say, he wins another Ballon d'Or, he firmly establishes himself as the GOAT who will be remembered as someone who did it season after season in Spain, and for a few seasons in England at the end of his career. If City don't win anything, his legacy will definitely be tarnished. That ad nauseam analogy of not doing it in a cold, wet evening at Stoke will forever remain.

Everything depends on how well City perform in the next two/three years. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see arguably the greatest player each week in the English League. I hope this deal goes through, even if it means we won't win anything for the next 1/2 years, which we wouldn't have anyway.
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Not that he needs it but his rep would get a huge boost if he wins city a cl. Theyve not come close to a final with the likes of
Monaco spurs scouse (pre Alison) lyon knocking them out. If he can change that would be great for him (but hurt peps rep imo)
 
I doubt Barca will crumble massively. Even if they go through Griezmann - RM or AM aren't massively ahead of them anyway. It'll give of their stars a new lease of life.
 
Buchan said:
Leo, Leo, Leo... what have you done, mate? Talking about shitting all over a legacy.

The Barcelona fans may be on your side now, and not blame you for this debacle, but when you leave and the club inevitably descends into chaos and turmoil, struggling to compete and in financial ruin from funding your exorbitant salary year after year, and eventually go on a 1/2/3/4/5 season barren run, then they’ll come after you.

In the fullness of time, I believe this will be judged a huge mistake from Messi.
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He's doing the right thing. He's given so much to Barcelona he's almost synonymous with the club. If they go on a barren run they have to learn to fix the systemic issues that cause them. He can't be expected to spend all his latter years carrying them while Bartemeu rips the club to shreds regardless. Maybe it can be more amicable buts this is
 
I don’t actually see City being notably better if they get Messi. Obviously he’s a great player and will bag goals, assists, and generally dish out the performances, but it’ll be interesting to see how it impacts the rest of the team and the way they generally play. City have a good thing going, dropping in a personality as big as Messi will impact then massively.

That said, he’d no doubt step up and improve their results in the big CL knockout games. I suppose that’s the main reason why they’d buy him though.
 
Suvvernmanc said:
I would say messi plays every game he's fit.. and I would say he'll play either false 9 and demote Jesus/Aguero or play as an attacking #8 and demote Foden/Bernardo Silva. I'd say the latter is more likely.

De Bruyne plays as he's magic. So Foden will be the biggest loser here as City will have Torres, Mahrez, and Benardo for the right wing, and Sterling and Torres for the left wing leaving the midfield with the problems fitting everyone in.

I said ages ago Foden needed to leave to get proper game time and I obviously had a u-turn once I knew David Silva was leaving. Now.. I'm thinking Foden is going to struggle again.
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Yeah, foden looks like the one to be impacted by this, if so that’ll send a bad message when recruiting young talents. He’s been waiting for his chance for a long time already.
 
Messi will score goals for fun in that City team. He’s doing the right thing leaving Barca now. 33 years old, Barca need to find a way to move on. Can’t understand how bad they’ve been planning this though. I mean it cant be a huge suprise this.
 
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