Lionel Messi | Joins Inter Miami (pg4111)

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I don't think the Premier League has that much appeal apart from the large amount of cash that is knocking about. (although thats going to change with the whole covid-19 situation). That isn't Messi's full motivation.
 
In the circumstances I could see Messi leave. A rebuild at Barca is going to take 2/3 seasons minimum which Messi hasn’t got. Realistically, there’s probably only 3 clubs who would genuinely feel they could sign him: ourselves, PSG and the Rags. He’s not going to the Rags because why would he...so it’s between us and PSG. I would put them as favourites as Neymar is now likely to stay. Hope I’m wrong. Messi in a City strip - I think I would spontaneously combust :)
 
I don't think the Premier League has that much appeal apart from the large amount of cash that is knocking about. (although thats going to change with the whole covid-19 situation). That isn't Messi's full motivation.

It's a much tougher test imo, week in week out, than the other leagues & people who want to really test themselves come here.

People who don't, play in Spain & Italy, where you can cruise half a season & still win, if you play for the few winning teams then be fit as a fiddle to show off in the Champions League.

This is definitely not the place to be, if you want to look brillliant every week, without having your pants pulled down.
 
It's a much tougher test imo, week in week out, than the other leagues & people who want to really test themselves come here.

People who don't, play in Spain & Italy, where you can cruise half a season & still win, if you play for the rew winning teams then be fit as a fiddle to show off in the Champions League.

This is definitely not the place to be, if you want to look brillliant every week, without having your pants pulled down.

I don't disagree with your post but La Liga can be just as brutal. Attletico Madrid being prime example knocking out the current Premier League Champions and Messi has been kicked to shit, week in ansd week out whilst playing in that league.
 
...and ptetends he's leaving, every few years, to help the club by intimidating said beaurocrats into paying him ludicrous wages, so they put the club into more & more debt...

Not sure about that one tbh.

I think this proves that there are a lot of assumptions about him - whatever his motivations are especially but you dont stay that long at a club when you literally could play for ANY team in the world (some of whom could pay you just as much and more) if you dont love the club - messi has been there since he was a kid (13/14 I think?)
 
I don't disagree with your post but La Liga can be just as brutal.

Imo, La Liga is a football competition, where there are tactical tweaks but teams will play football against you, the Premier League is a dark alley, full of people with guns & knives who have spent the past six months working out how best to kill you & whose supporters will put up with watching utter non footballl shite, week in week out, if they get results with it.
 
Reasonable, to be fair. It’s literally CL+PL , +fa and or milk cup or bust. Not sure Messi has the sack for that or Pep for that matter.

I don think he would play every game nor may he want to - he may be releived to come away from club where so much emphasis is placed on him.....we are arguably (messi aside) a better team than Barca and he certainly wouldnt play every game (Esp not lower FA cup and League cup games) nd would be rotated around and used as a sub occasionally I would think

As people have alluded to one of the concerns is his age/fitness and this getting worse as he gets older - well he could come to a club where he can have less pressure on him at least on the pitch with the likes of Sterling, KDB, Jesus Torrrs etc doing some of his leg work for him
 
I think this proves that there are a lot of assumptions about him - whatever his motivations are especially but you dont stay that long at a club when you literally could play for ANY team in the world (some of whom could pay you just as much and more) if you dont love the club - messi has been there since he was a kid (13/14 I think?)

So he's paid his debt to the club & free to leave.

But he prefers to play in an ever worsening team, for ever increasing wages out of love & charity ?

Or because of his comfort & status there ?
 
So he's paid his debt to the club & free to leave.

But he prefers to play in an ever worsening team, for ever increasing wages out of love & charity ?

Or because of his comfort & status there ?

Maybe all but he has earnt it surely. He has earnt the right to have a say as well (if that is indeed what he is doing which some people are presuming is gospel truth)

What are your real concerns about this IF it were to happen?

Messi wouldnt have that player power here - the club is run by bigger people than him -Khaldoon for starters. He wouldnt have the power as depsite being the best player ever in the world he hasnt got the experience of the league nor the club to wield that power. He is the new boy. He wouldnt even be captain (Im presuming that will go to KDB this year)
A different surrounding might just be what he needs so he can get back to just playing football and not worrying about the politics of the club
 
We'll have to agree to disagree on that. I reckon we'd absolutely destroy a Messi-less Barca.

I thikn you are right

I think we have a great team to put around Messi and actually take some strain off him...KDB, Sterling, Jesus Bernardo Walker, Ferna -all run through brick walls every game they play - i think it would actually help Messi to have that.

Edit - you can add Foden to that list as well - just think of them two playing together....teams wouldnt be able to touch them!
 
Barcelona are a toxic club though. Ridiculously toxic. I guarantee players at City would fight back if we had a chairman anywhere near as toxic as this fella. Bartomeu literally hired a social media company to attack his rivals for the position, also denigrating players etc. The gloves are off entirely. This isn't anything like Man City's structure. Barca are an absolute rank mess. They got Abidal to fire a manager, then sacked Abidal the next day ffs!

I don't deny for one second that Messi has been drawn into this toxicity, but everyone has at Barcelona. Don't forget Pep left Barcelona because he felt the politics was too tiring.
That's the problem when you have supporters running a football club, it simply does not work.

A football club especially one the size of Barca has to be operated professionally , business decisions have to be made and sentiment can't be part of that.

When City was under the rule of PJ Swales, not doubt he was a blue, but he ran the club like a fan, sacking managers on a whim and signing players like he was playing Fifa manager. It doesn't work!
 
Maybe all but he has earnt it surely. He has earnt the right to have a say as well (if that is indeed what he is doing which some people are presuming is gospel truth)

What are your real concerns about this IF it were to happen?

Messi wouldnt have that player power here - the club is run by bigger people than him -Khaldoon for starters. He wouldnt have the power as depsite being the best player ever in the world he hasnt got the experience of the league nor the club to wield that power. He is the new boy. He wouldnt even be captain (Im presuming that will go to KDB this year)
A different surrounding might just be what he needs so he can get back to just playing football and not worrying about the politics of the club

I have no doubt Messi has enough left to be fucking brilliant, himself, for some years to come.

Watching him v Napoli, he sometimes received the ball in positions where the oppo were huge favourites to win it, but he was away & causing chances. Against Bayern, he threw the towel in, but his team mates were beyond a joke.

Will he beat two men & play that little pass through to Aguero, like Silva did ?

Well he doesn't, for Argentina, he beats a 3rd & shoots or loses the ball.

Barca is built around Messi but we are not. Ibrahimovic had to go, for Messi to thrive.

Will we drop him if he ruins the team structure, or start dropping everyone else ?

Will we have our identity or just be 'Messi' ?

Will Pep build a team, if we give him Messi, or will he just cash in, if it works, then fuck off ?

If Pep can't adapt to the tactics teams are now using v City & can't even build a defence out of Walker, Stones, Koulibaly, Aké, Laporte, Mendy, Fernandinho, thus proving he is finished at City, will he stay on because he's promised Messi, & go mental ? Will he leave & if so, what of Messi ? Will the next manager, try & fail, to build his team around Messi ? Can he ?

Etc.

It's not such a simple question as suggested
 
Imo, La Liga is a football competition, where there are tactical tweaks but teams will play football against you, the Premier League is a dark alley, full of people with guns & knives who have spent the past six months working out how best to kill you & whose supporters will put up with watching utter non footballl shite, week in week out, if they get results with it.

You've just described Simeone and Atletico Madrid but the point is La Liga can be just as competitive(even if a certain Tebas is current running the league)
 
You've just described Simeone and Atletico Madrid but the point is La Liga can be just as competitive(even if a certain Tebas is current running the league)

Competitive, but not in the same way.

Burnley would not survive in La Liga, but they would, if teams had to travel to Burnley to play them.
 
In what world does he not improve us? we have been embarassed the last 4 years in the CL for starters. He is a guaranteed success.

As for wage structure, I really don't get this point. Yes, he will be on big wages, he is the best player ever. Do we think hes going to come in at 100k and then maybe get a bigger one if he proves himself?

If a single player in our current squad could muster the courage to go and knock on Pep's door and say I want parity with Messi then we have a much bigger problem.

I can see why you'd say that but you haven't looked at the numbers and the numbers reveal all.
Look at them and you'll see which world he doesn't improve us in, it's this world, the one we're in, and that's the problem.
You must appreciate that Barca have an excellent squad even without Messi, a squad that's as good as or likely even better than ours.
However, with Messi in their side, and playing in a weaker league than we do, they score less than us and concede more because when he's on the pitch everything must go through him. So they don't play as a team (the Messi effect), they score less as a team, and he doesn't press or tackle or track back or even attempt to jog back, so they play with 10 men in the defensive phases of a game and concede goals that they wouldn't concede if they had a team player rsther than Messi.
He doesn't improve Barca, a side built to fit him like a glove, so he won't improve us.

I'm baffled as to how people look at Messi and instantly forget that football's a team game and the best teams win. Having a super duper star in your side achieves not an awful lot if the super duper star is above playing as a team player.

All IMO of course.
 
I can see why you'd say that but you haven't looked at the numbers and the numbers reveal all.
Look at them and you'll see which world he doesn't improve us in, it's this world, the one we're in, and that's the problem.
You must appreciate that Barca have an excellent squad even without Messi, a squad that's as good as or likely even better than ours.
However, with Messi in their side, and playing in a weaker league than we do, they score less than us and concede more because when he's on the pitch everything must go through him. So they don't play as a team (the Messi effect), they score less as a team, and he doesn't press or tackle or track back or even attempt to jog back, so they play with 10 men in the defensive phases of a game and concede goals that they wouldn't concede if they had a team player rsther than Messi.
He doesn't improve Barca, a side built to fit him like a glove, so he won't improve us.

I'm baffled as to how people look at Messi and instantly forget that football's a team game and the best teams win. Having a super duper star in your side achieves not an awful lot if the super duper star is above playing as a team player.

All IMO of course.
I stopped reading when you wrote Barce have a better squad than ours, with or without Messi. Not even close
 
I stopped reading when you wrote Barce have a better squad than ours, with or without Messi. Not even close

Fair do’s, that’s your opinion and I must say that it’s nice to see an opinion with at least a small element of reason behind it rather that all the blinkered ‘goat’ talk.

So, to expand on your reasoning, you think that Barca scored 86 and conceded 38 last season in weaker league than ours (compared to our 102 for / 35 against in the PL) is that Messi is let down by the crap players around him?
 
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