# Messi is leaving Barcelona **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** football-soccer-fifa\ **Created:** [August 5, 2021, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114 "2021-08-05T18:17:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/1 "2021-08-05T18:17:55Z")
[Lionel Messi contract: Barcelona says club legend won’t return - Sports Illustrated](https://www.si.com/soccer/2021/08/05/lionel-messi-not-returning-barcelona-free-agent) Looks like negotiations broke down because Barca is broke (well to be more honest, they can’t fit him under the La Liga FFP like salary cap). And now Messi, who is out of contract, is free to hawk his wares to whoever he wishes. Of course Man City will be sniffing around, but they just bought Grealish for $100mil today. PSG may be interested as well. Should be very interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/2 "2021-08-05T18:24:00Z")
How many good years does a guy like Messi have left? Maybe just 2 more in the tank? ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/3 "2021-08-05T18:26:39Z")
I know its just a fantasy but I wish that he woulkd go to Dortmund to be a rolemodel/tutor for all their young players. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/4 "2021-08-05T18:29:48Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > How many good years does a guy like Messi have left? Maybe just 2 more in the tank? I mean he had 30 goals in La Liga this season and 5 goals in UEFA Champions League. He likely will slow down more, but I can easily see him continue to be successful for a good 5 years (which would bring him to 39 which is Zlatan’s current age). ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/5 "2021-08-05T18:42:57Z")
He doesnt have Zlatans physicality. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/6 "2021-08-05T18:49:15Z")
Well pick some other player who played until 40 like Ryan Giggs then. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/7 "2021-08-05T19:13:37Z")
Im not saying that he cant play till he is 40. I am saying that he doesnt have the physicality to make up for his lost speed and quickness that Zlatan or CR7 do. He can still be a great player though in the right system. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/8 "2021-08-05T19:42:41Z")
Does anyone think any US MLS teams could shell out enough to take him , or would that be something for 5 years from now. ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/9 "2021-08-05T19:45:07Z")
I think he will go to PSG. Manchester City probably wish they waited a day or two before completing a £100M deal to sign Jack Grealish if they knew Lionel Messi is now free. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/10 "2021-08-05T19:46:23Z")
> [@Precambrianmollusc](#): > > Does anyone think any US MLS teams could shell out enough to take him , or would that be something for 5 years from now. Not a chance. He was willing to take a pay cut to stay with Barca… that pay cut was rumored to be $150mil a year. Theoretically, an MLS team could pay it (3 Designated Players don’t count against the cap). However, the biggest salary budget, including DPs, for any MLS team is around $20mil I think. ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/11 "2021-08-05T19:48:47Z")
Ok that is quite a gap! ---
**Author:** ![Boycott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boycott/32/6741_2.png) [@Boycott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boycott)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/12 "2021-08-05T19:53:29Z")
Won’t be surprised if there is one final twist and the Spanish FA change their financial regulations. For a decade their global revenue from TV deals was geared because of Messi and Ronaldo. With them Barcelona and Real Madrid got to negotiate their own deals while everyone else got leftover crumbs. Without them the rest of the league is not going to appeal and interest/revenue will fall dramatically. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/13 "2021-08-05T23:15:27Z")
I don’t think Messi’s Salary was $150M, that was total compensation which included other stuff like image rights. I think salary was like $40M and he had reportedly agreed to a 50% paycut. I dunno, if he really wanted to stay he could agree to whatever salary would fit under the cap. Barca is a mess though, maybe he should leave. Especially since part of that mess is spending close to $300M on Griezmann and Coutinho when both players tend to occupy a similar place on the field as Messi. MLS? Messi has apparently expressed a desire to play there eventually. It won’t be next year though. How many good years does he have left? Oddsmakers have him the favorite to win the Ballon d’Or this year. He has a long way to drop before he’s not worth a lot. I don’t know if his salary demands will deteriorate as fast as his skills though. 50% PSG, 30% stays at Barca, 15% Man City, 5% other. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/14 "2021-08-05T23:26:55Z")
He could go to PSG, then try to Suarez to join him and Neymar…MSN 2.0! ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2021, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/15 "2021-08-05T23:32:37Z")
Nobody on ESPN buys this is accurate. They all think it’s a tactic to negotiate with outside parties. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/16 "2021-08-06T12:11:04Z")
Andreas Pirlo was effective into his late thirties and he barely broke into more than a light trot during games. I remain unclear as to whether it was FFP that got Barca or if they simply spent themselves into Bolivian. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/17 "2021-08-06T12:15:52Z")
I hope ManU gets him, but I doubt the Glazers would open their chequebook for an old player like Lionel. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2021, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/18 "2021-08-06T15:44:00Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > I don’t think Messi’s Salary was $150M, that was total compensation which included other stuff like image rights. According to the leaked salary that was what his contract with Barca paid him. Sure it could have included other things from the club but functionally it’s the same - outlays from the club to Messi > **[Report Reveals FC Barcelona Star Lionel Messi’s Record-Breaking Contract](https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertkidd/2021/01/31/report-reveals-fc-barcelona-star-lionel-messis-record-breaking-contract/)** > > A leaked copy of Messi's contract shows he earns $168.5 million a season. > [@](#): > > It shows the 33-year-old, considered by many to be the greatest soccer player in history, earns up to $168.5 million a season. Under Spanish law, he would reportedly have to pay around half that amount in taxes. > **[Report: Messi, Barcelona agree to new 5-year deal with massive pay cut](https://www.nbcsports.com/soccer/news/report-messi-barcelona-agree-to-new-5-year-deal-with-massive-pay-cut)** > > Five more years in the Blaugrana shirt? A happy ending (finally) for Messi and Barcelona. > [@](#): > > It was previously revealed that Messi’s last contract paid him $674 million over the four-year term ($168.5 million per year), thus the new deal is expected to pay him close to $85 million per year and just over $420 million should he remain at the club for the duration. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2021, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/19 "2021-08-07T13:04:24Z")
PSG is saying that they’ve signed him. Lining up this season with Neymar and Mbappe. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2021, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114/20 "2021-08-07T19:05:24Z")
Tomorrow morning Messi will give a farewell thingie at Camp Nou. > [@](#): > > “I like to dream, but we have to live in the reality” when asked if Messi could play for Barcelona again if Financial Fair Play rules are relaxed by La Liga. - [club president Joan Porta](https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2021/08/07/messi-reportedly-agrees-psg-contract-barcelona-exit/) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/messi-is-leaving-barcelona/948114.md?page=2)