It wouldn't neccesarily be simple to replace Messi with new players, but overall I believe it's the right thing to do.
They already have Dembele and once he's back that's one of the front three that they play sorted. Then you have Suarez who is still incredible so in reality you don't need to find all these players you suggested.
I'm a huge fan of Dembele, and think he has the potential to go on a be a player of his generation, but, potential is just that and is by no means a sure thing. Dembele, seriously curtailed via injury or otherwise just not proving himself, is an unknown quantity as far as Barcelona are concerned. He's also too inexperienced to have anything like the anchor of being a player hoping to cover for the shortcomings of that team without Messi. The burden of expectation is suffocating at the best of times; one can only imagine what it would be like at a time of complete upheaval.
Suarez has shown a steep decline over the last year; he hasn't been 'incredible' for quite some time - if anyone was to be sold on, it should be him whilst they can still get a fair penny for him. He's older than Messi, a lesser player and one whom Messi can directly cover for if needs be. The same cannot be said in reverse as no one player can cover for Messi.
Putting eggs in the proverbial basket post-Messi you suggest is far more risky and potentially disastrous than waiting for Messi's level to drop to something superior to any of them (anyway) as he ages.
When you have a player who is 31, giving them 80 million simply to stay is incredibly bad business no matter who he is.
'£80m' is not the awe-inspiring number it used to be in the world of football. Like I've said a few times in here, that amount won't even buy you a single top class player anymore. And when you're talking about replacing the best player on the planet, unless you have some truly exceptional youth (potential all-time greats) coming through, you are going to have to spend a fortune. Messi is also 30, not 31.
For the record, I think there's only two players on earth you give this kind of contract to at 30 and that's because they have almost a decade of performance with no signs of certain decline behind them. They've both actually shown a substantial capability to modify their game as Father Time takes away physical prowess, which suggests a player who can be of great use to a side for the duration of the contract, and if not that, then the majority of it.
The last two seasons haven't exactly been stellar for Barcelona because their players are all declining. If you spend a ton of money keeping Messi and can't strengthen elsewhere they'll simply continue to fall behind.
That's because others around Messi are not pulling their weight. That's got nothing to do with what he is worth or should be due. Messi is as productive as he usually is - the contract isn't based on a name, but rather, merit.
Say they got in someone like Mbappe, who I know is currently at PSG but it's a loan so there is still a chance they could snatch him; then Mbappe, Suarez and Dembele would be a fantastic front three next season.
Yeah Mbappe would cost a lot more than the 80 million Messi wants, but he's also a hell of a lot younger and has an actual sell on value.
?But this is some kind of fantasy. There is no 'someone like' ; there is Mbappé, at the richest club in the world, and that's it. Mbappé, as good as he has looked, is more of a gamble, for the outlay, than giving Messi the new contract.
On one hand, you have these names and the risk inolved, on the other, you have a surething and bona fide all-time great who is settled, delivering and very likely to retire from his NT and maintain his health exclusively for his club within the duration of this new contract. The avenue you go down should be an absolute no-brainer.
Plus the idea of the board getting into trouble if they let Messi go isn't neccesarily a good one. The main thing that should matter is the state of the club, and when your star player is kicking up a fuss deciding he's worth 80 million just to stay then it's time to go.
Messi isn't kicking up a fuss. He doesn't have to as his catalogue of performance and what he has done, and continues to do, for Barcelona speaks louder than anything he could say.
He's still the most sought after player, for any club who can afford him, which is a company of 2 in Europe, both he and the club know he can get more money at either of those sides.
Let everyone know that Messis demands are absurd, and that you'll be letting him to because he's not bigger than the club.
Until Barcelona re-establish themselves as a club not dependent on Messi, yes, he is bigger than them. Once you get a player, or players in who are the next to carry the torch ala Messi taking it from Ronaldinho, Messi has all the leverage, not that he needs to strong arm Barcelona in any way. I'm sure they know his worth and are eager to get him signed up for a myriad of reasons that take both on and off the field considerations into account.
It's hilarious. Just doesn't make any sense.