Lionel Messi

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jem

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Barcelona are actually daft to to not sell messi with money and maybe 3 players to city. The guy leaves on a free next year. This was basically the ticket to a new rebuild.

Lets be honest messi is still worldclass at 33 but with a year left and so many aging players at the club this was the opportunity to head in a new direction.
Yeah I'm wondering why City (or United for that matter) doesn't just offer 100 million for him now. Barca would be crazy to turn that down when they're almost guaranteed to lose him on a free next season.
 

Mb194dc

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If Messi doesn't sign a new deal, what do Barcelona gain by keeping him?

10 Months of him putting 70% in, pay his wages which will be £50M ish and he leaves for free in June 2021 when contract expires.

If they have any sense they will take a £100m transfer fee now and save his wages this season.
 

Pep's Suit

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Well, Bartomeu will have his own candidate for new Barca president so he can't really afford to lose Messi now.
 

RDCR07

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If Messi doesn't sign a new deal, what do Barcelona gain by keeping him?

10 Months of him putting 70% in, pay his wages which will be £50M ish and he leaves for free in June 2021 when contract expires.

If they have any sense they will take a £100m transfer fee now and save his wages this season.
No one wants to pay 100m. City were hoping for a free transfer. If not they would still buy him.
 

Lemansky

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Can’t understand people criticising Messi

If we had that dysfunctional board and our biggest legend ever stood up to them we would salute him even more

The mismanagement of Barcelona the last year is pretty epic and will be a stain in their history for ever.
 

Suedesi

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He specifically said that there was no project whatsoever in the last few years, the board only tried to plug holes without a long term vision or anything like that. City definitely has one. I mean, not even Barca fans themselves deny that. There are the ones that defend Messi, there are the ones that criticize him (though the interview may have convinced many of those I guess) but you won't find a single one defending Bartomeu.

Barc a paid a PR agency in order to publicly damage the reputation of Messi (among others, like Pique, Xavi and Laporte) ffs. And not in the context of this transfer request but the election campaign of Bartomeu. This story surfaced as early as February and the allegations seem profound enough for the Spanish police to start fraud investigations. Let that sink in, this is completely wicked.

Honestly, I can't understand people not siding with Messi in this whole circus. Yes, Barca is the villain in this story. The only reason Messi's still there seems to be that he's not willing to drag them to court.
Agreed. This issue is a little bit more subtle than the comprehension of the average caftard would allow. It's telling that most Barca fans understand and side with Messi, whereas Madrid and EPL fans are the ones to blame Messi for it.

This is not club vs individual, this is a fraudulent president vs a star player that loves Barca but has come disillusioned with the club's management and wants out. Barca will survive and exist after Messi, whereas Messi's prime years will be wasted. Messi has been a great servant to the club, denying him the chance to move seems petty. Let him go, collect a fee and use it to rebuild.
 

Zen86

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Can’t understand people criticising Messi

If we had that dysfunctional board and our biggest legend ever stood up to them we would salute him even more

The mismanagement of Barcelona the last year is pretty epic and will be a stain in their history for ever.
We would salute a club legend trying to leave on a free transfer would we?
 

acnumber9

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Can’t understand people criticising Messi

If we had that dysfunctional board and our biggest legend ever stood up to them we would salute him even more

The mismanagement of Barcelona the last year is pretty epic and will be a stain in their history for ever.
By demanding to leave for free? Messi is a big problem for Barcelona. He’s been picking and choosing who gets to manage the club and play for years and his ridiculous wage is part of the reason they’re in such trouble. I don’t know how anyone could not criticise him.
 

caid

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Doesn't seem like there will be any winners here. The board has thrown a get out of jail free card down the toilet, getting a decent transfer fee for him was far more than they deserved. Now they're stuck with 3 / 4 €100m+ players who all play roughly the same position and very little elsewhere.
Cant see Messi being especially motivated. I'm sure he will initially but if they slide out of a title race early in the season with a couple of humbling defeats then how fecked is he going to be? Basically burned their bridges with their most significant player ever and are now forcing him to stay to make sure the atmosphere at the club is going to be terrible. Its just such a weird set of decisions.
 

Lemansky

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We would salute a club legend trying to leave on a free transfer would we?
By demanding to leave for free? Messi is a big problem for Barcelona. He’s been picking and choosing who gets to manage the club and play for years and his ridiculous wage is part of the reason they’re in such trouble. I don’t know how anyone could not criticise him.
If that was our board we would all totally understand why he wanted to leave. The “free” exit is not something he just invented, he had a clause at the end of the season. End of the season date got pushed because of COVID.
Their board and president is a total disaster. I could not care less. It’s not a club I like at all, but I totally understand Messis position. Going public like this is the last line of action him and the players has for change.
 

Zehner

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We would salute a club legend trying to leave on a free transfer would we?
Only that he is not trying to do so. He could leave on a free if he was willing to sue the club but he isn't.
 

Drainy

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Honestly, I can't understand people not siding with Messi in this whole circus. Yes, Barca is the villain in this story. The only reason Messi's still there seems to be that he's not willing to drag them to court.
I agree.

Also the people comparing it to Rooney are daft. Messi had a clause in his contact allowing him to have a free transfer this summer that Barcelona agreed to, and was looking to leave the league. However Barca have broken the spirit of the agreement because Covid delayed the season's end and rather than going to the courts has just accepted the position.

Rooney was attempting to force a transfer to our city rivals because they were offering him more money.
 

Zehner

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Agreed. This issue is a little bit more subtle than the comprehension of the average caftard would allow. It's telling that most Barca fans understand and side with Messi, whereas Madrid and EPL fans are the ones to blame Messi for it.

This is not club vs individual, this is a fraudulent president vs a star player that loves Barca but has come disillusioned with the club's management and wants out. Barca will survive and exist after Messi, whereas Messi's prime years will be wasted. Messi has been a great servant to the club, denying him the chance to move seems petty. Let him go, collect a fee and use it to rebuild.

Yeah, probably would be better to just ignore those posts.
 

caid

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We would salute a club legend trying to leave on a free transfer would we?
We'd hammer the board for putting a clause in his contract that lets him leave on a free. Him making use of it would get some criticism but most would understand
 

acnumber9

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If that was our board we would all totally understand why he wanted to leave. The “free” exit is not something he just invented, he had a clause at the end of the season. End of the season date got pushed because of COVID.
Their board and president is a total disaster. I could not care less. It’s not a club I like at all, but I totally understand Messis position. Going public like this is the last line of action him and the players has for change.
I don’t remember everyone understanding when Rooney said he wanted to leave because our board wasn’t ambitious enough.
 

GoldanoGraham

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Agreed. This issue is a little bit more subtle than the comprehension of the average caftard would allow. It's telling that most Barca fans understand and side with Messi, whereas Madrid and EPL fans are the ones to blame Messi for it.

This is not club vs individual, this is a fraudulent president vs a star player that loves Barca but has come disillusioned with the club's management and wants out. Barca will survive and exist after Messi, whereas Messi's prime years will be wasted. Messi has been a great servant to the club, denying him the chance to move seems petty. Let him go, collect a fee and use it to rebuild.
While Messi is commendable for not dragging this through the courts, the underlying issue with the problems at Barca does fundamentally come down to Messi and his significant influence on everything that goes on there......whether or not it’s always with intent, this is the only example in football of a player being bigger than the club.....

He is able to influence who manages the team, who is transferred in and out, who runs the club....he also commands an extortionate pay packet - however he has earned that right....

barca have never managed the exit of their golden generation that well as it’s often been masked by the genius of Messi - they had Puyol, Xavi, Iniesta - all have left but never really been replaced.....the problem now is that Messi is in his twilight years of his career - as great as he is he cannot influence everything like he once did and now the club is unable to move in a new direction or plan without his influence/interference.....

I think it would have been best for both sides to have moved on now - Barca cannot rebuild until Messi has left, Messi can’t win anything in a new rebuilt Barca team that is a shadow of the teams he played in the past........

cant see this next season being great for him or Koeman.....
 

Utd7

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If Barca’s President was smart and had self awareness, he would move elections from March to December. Messi is free to negotiate his sign on fee in January with any club he chooses. Try and beat him to the punch with a new regime and convince him to stay.
 

Zehner

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I don’t remember everyone understanding when Rooney said he wanted to leave because our board wasn’t ambitious enough.
Your board didn't pay third parties to ruin the public reputation of your current star players and other opponent's of your president. Your board didn't lie to Rooney about letting him leave for at the end of the season. Your board didn't refuse Rooney the contractual right to leave because they know Rooney wouldn't dare suing the club he's grown up at.
 

acnumber9

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Ambitious enough with their contract offer. Amazing that an extra £50k a week or whatever changed his mind.
Funny that Messi didn’t mind signing his last contract when it was offered by Bartomeu. Or that his wage is a huge part of the reason that Barcelona can’t afford new players. Or when he insists his mates manage the club or play up front.
 

Drainy

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Funny that Messi didn’t mind signing his last contract when it was offered by Bartomeu. Or that his wage is a huge part of the reason that Barcelona can’t afford new players. Or when he insists his mates manage the club or play up front.
with a clause that would have let him leave this summer if he wasn't happy with things in case you missed that point
 

Bebestation

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He will then blame the Barcelona government for not winning any CL for the rest of his life & he can rest his life as the Goat in his mind.

Barcelona would still be a different level with iniesta and xavi, winning CL's with the same possession football that won Spain the World Cup and European Cup with ease.
 

acnumber9

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Your board didn't pay third parties to ruin the public reputation of your current star players and other opponent's of your president. Your board didn't lie to Rooney about letting him leave for at the end of the season. Your board didn't refuse Rooney the contractual right to leave because they know Rooney wouldn't dare suing the club he's grown up at.
Rooney also didn’t tell the club who could manage us or play up front. He signed a contract which stated a date he could leave. He didn’t activate it in time. And it seems to have been instigated by Barcelona deciding they didn’t want his mate playing up front anymore.
 

Le Red

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The fact is Barca need to rebuild and they are never going to do that with Messi in the dressing room. I am not going to speculate his real reason for staying but his whole "I'm not suing my beloved Barca..." act I'm not buying either.
He was really keen on leaving and given his history with the club, it is believable he didn't want to sue them.
They could have done a proper rebuild with Messi in the locker room, it's not Messi's fault that Bartomeu's sporting project is a joke, and that Barça's main plan in the last years has been hoping Messi would carry the team.
 

acnumber9

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with a clause that would have let him leave this summer if he wasn't happy with things in case you missed that point
With a set date that he didn’t activate it by. In case you missed that point. Which club would let an asset like Messi go for free when they don’t have to?
 

Lemansky

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Barca fans generally side with Messi from what I have been seeing and the people very harsh on him are EPL fans with no knowledge of Barca’s situation, CR7 fanboys or Real Madrid fans. Do some reading up on this board’s shenanigans and you would totally understand why they have this situation.
 

Zehner

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Rooney also didn’t tell the club who could manage us or play up front. He signed a contract which stated a date he could leave. He didn’t activate it in time. And it seems to have been instigated by Barcelona deciding they didn’t want his mate playing up front anymore.
You obviously don't know (or don't care) what was said in the interview so I don't see the point in arguing with you.
 

Zehner

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With a set date that he didn’t activate it by. In case you missed that point. Which club would let an asset like Messi go for free when they don’t have to?
Only that the most important part doesn't mention a date but "end of the season". Messi would most likely win the court battle.

As I said, you don't listened to or read the interview. You don't have enough information to have an opinion but don't care anyway.
 

Drainy

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With a set date that he didn’t activate it by. In case you missed that point. Which club would let an asset like Messi go for free when they don’t have to?
because of Covid causing a delay in the season ending, in case you haven't been paying attention to the world.

You seem to think the guy is a cnut and yet he didn't leave them midseason when he could have. The spirit of the clause was for the end of the season and if it went to court there is a decent chance the clause would be valid. It would just be a complete shitshow.

Also, Rooney started telling SAF who he should sign and SAF told him to feck off, which caused them to fall out.
 

Sultan

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I'd hate for any player to have such influence as Messi at United. Messi is paid to perform on the pitch and let others do their duty. Does not matter how great he is as a player. Messi does not own the club. I doubt most club owners interfere as much as Messi has done.

Barca fans should not be supporting such despicable behaviour from any player.
 

acnumber9

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You obviously don't know (or don't care) what was said in the interview so I don't see the point in arguing with you.
Only that the most important part doesn't mention a date but "end of the season". Messi would most likely win the court battle.

As I said, you don't listened to or read the interview. You don't have enough information to have an opinion but don't care anyway.
An interview with Messi? I’d probably go with a less subjective opinion on it.
 

Zehner

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because of Covid causing a delay in the season ending, in case you haven't been paying attention to the world.

You seem to think the guy is a cnut and yet he didn't leave them midseason when he could have. The spirit of the clause was for the end of the season and if it went to court there is a decent chance the clause would be valid. It would just be a complete shitshow.
Moreover, the president apparently confirmed him that he could leave at the end of the season. Which turned out to be a blatant lie.
 

Zehner

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An interview with Messi? I’d probably go with a less subjective opinion on it.
So you choose to go with tabloid reports suggesting he's the evil child of Macchiavelli and Moriarty. Well done.
 

acnumber9

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So you choose to go with tabloid reports suggesting he's the evil child of Macchiavelli and Moriarty. Well done.
No, basing my opinion on the fact that Messi decided he wanted to leave for nothing when he had no legal right to. That’s a simple fact. Evidenced by the fact he is still a Barcelona player.
 

Lennon7

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I'd hate for any player to have such influence as Messi at United. Messi is paid to perform on the pitch and let others do their duty. Does not matter how great he is as a player. Messi does not own the club. I doubt most club owners interfere as much as Messi has done.

Barca fans should not be supporting such despicable behaviour from any player.
I completely agree with this, but at the same time many players at Barca have expressed the same discontent with their ownership. Pique was almost in tears when they got knocked out the CL.

I’d like to think the leaders at our club would speak on behalf of the fans and be as publicly critical towards our board as they are at Barca now if we deteriorate to that level. Players probably should have in the past - and we’d all love it on here.
 

acnumber9

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because of Covid causing a delay in the season ending, in case you haven't been paying attention to the world.

You seem to think the guy is a cnut and yet he didn't leave them midseason when he could have. The spirit of the clause was for the end of the season and if it went to court there is a decent chance the clause would be valid. It would just be a complete shitshow.

Also, Rooney started telling SAF who he should sign and SAF told him to feck off, which caused them to fall out.
He didn’t decide to leave until it was made clear he doesn’t pick who plays and manages the team anymore. And you think Messi hasn’t been calling the shots at Barcelona for years? Come on.
 
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