His transfer fee is a large fraction of $1 billion. While his genius is still apparent, there are clear signs that he is on the decline. While someone with unlimited capital may be able to pay that fee, I can’t see a commensurate return on their investment.
If Barca stick to their asking price and no one offers, and Messi sticks to his demand on leaving, what happens? Does he just sit and not get paid, and play the waiting game? Presumably Barca would be better off reducing the asking price. Would they do this?
In the case of Messi, Barca may be willing to make accommodations to keep him happy. But what happens if both sides refuse to budge? And if Barca is willing to reduce the asking price, then what’s the point of setting this transfer fee in advance?
The point of setting a huge transfer fee is that players only leave on the club’s term. Neymar, for instance, wasn’t someone that Barcelona wanted to lose but his transfer fee was “only” ~$220M.
If Barcelona refuse to sell, Messi has no real recourse. He could refuse to play, but he can’t go to another (FIFA sanctioned?) team.
What usually happens when a player demands to leave is that the club ends up finding a transfer. In the recent past Dortmund sold Aubameyang and Dembele because they made it apparent they wanted to leave (and in Dembele’s case at least the money was more than worth it). Nobody is going to pay $700M, but Barcelona would rather sell Messi for a fraction of that and/or players than have someone that’s not going to perform at 100%. Given their timetable for a rebuild, it might be better for them to sell anyway. Messi to Man City for ~$100M plus Eric Garcia and/or Angelino seems possible and perhaps in the best interest of all three parties.
i think he just needs to retire personally
i mean sure you might get what 3 seasons at the most ? and then you’d have to spend more money for people to play with and then have a fire sale afterwards ala the florida marlins …
For whose benefit would that be? Messi doesn’t get to play, the teams that want to buy him don’t get the chance, and Barcelona doesn’t get recompense for selling him.
Well, it seems to be getting more complicated…
So the answer to the OP’s question is: “Messily”?
I’ll just, uh, see myself out…
Nice! Best thing I’ve read all day.
I guess we can’t expect Barca to let him go that easily. Any guesses on what the ultimate price will be? And paid by which oil billionaire?
I’m sticking by my prediction in post 2 with the second and third most likely options being staying at Barca and going to PSG respectively.
Rumor has it that Messi has agreed to personal terms with City Group for $700M over 5 years!? I’m skeptical about the numbers and Barcelona would still have to agree to it, but that move always made the most sense.
Well, it looks like he now wants to stay and honor the Barca contract. But I think it could be a bluff, as Barca gets nothing for him if he waits the year out. Plus, they have to pay him his hefty salary, and if Barca have another bad year (for them), he can just start coasting a bit. I assume he would go full speed if they have a chance to win trophies.
I think this is a bad decision by Barcelona. With his salary and loss of a transfer fee it’ll end up costing them like $150M to keep him one more year. They’re going to end up without anything to show for it and the same massive holes in their roster that moving Messi on would have allowed them to address.
Bartomeu thinks think will be better for his legacy, but unless they win the treble next year nothing could salvage that.