Lionel Messi’s bombshell request to leave Barcelona is expected to spark a legal battle over a multi-million-dollar buy-out clause but also raises the question of which club could afford him in the heat of the coronavirus pandemic.
Messi’s priority has always been to be part of a “winning project” at Camp Nou, and newly-appointed sporting director Ramon Planes on Wednesday hailed the Argentinian as a “winner” the Catalan club was working hard to keep.
As it stands, Messi is Barca’s record scorer and has been part of a team that has amassed four Champions League titles, 10 La Liga titles and six Copa del Rey trophies.
The 33-year-old’s latest season, however, was not only devoid of trophies for the first time since 2008, it was also defined by chaos that ended in humiliation with an 8-2 Champions League quarter-final defeat by the eventual champions, Bayern Munich.
Messi, a six-time Ballon d’Or winner, has not asked for a transfer to put his feet up for the final years of his career. This is a considered move aimed at bolstering his successes, and in one competition in particular; Champions League obsession .
The Champions League has become his obsession, which puts all of Europe’s super-clubs in contention and eliminates the less intensive, or more romantic options, at least for now.
With a reported weekly salary of nearly one million euros, those able both to afford Messi, and convince him, may only be Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City, with Inter Milan a third, more distant option.
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