Lionel Messi | Joins Inter Miami (pg4111)

[tolmie's hairdoo]

His wages are that crippling so to speak ?

Not crippling, but the best part of £230k a week and, yes, it is that high for a reason, as a club legend.

Call it £12m a year, it has to be a consideration for any long-term striker we do identify?

Someone like Haaland would easily be able to demand that.

If Sergio is offered £100k a week and bonuses for success, is he the type of person to accept it, I don't know?

Toure agreed something similar when we gave him another 12 months.

Dilemma for Sergio must be that he can easily collect £10m plus this summer as a signing on fee before wages as a freebie.

Hopefully everybody is sensible and we get to see Sergio for another year.

 

[BillyShears]

Not crippling, but the best part of £230k a week and, yes, it is that high for a reason, as a club legend.

Call it £12m a year, it has to be a consideration for any long-term striker we do identify?

Someone like Haaland would easily be able to demand that.

If Sergio is offered £100k a week and bonuses for success, is he the type of person to accept it, I don't know?

Toure agreed something similar when we gave him another 12 months.

Dilemma for Sergio must be that he can easily collect £10m plus this summer as a signing on getting before wages as a freebie.

Hopefully everybody is sensible and we get to see Sergio for another year.

Aguero's issue will be that nobody not even Barca/Real will give him what he wants at his age. The reality of their financial situations is such that they are trying to SELL over 30 players on big wages. Can't see how they justify adding Kun.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

I see it like this.

Haaland replaces Aguero's wages.

Messi pays for himself as per Omar's interview with the Athletic.

If they wanna keep Aguero, they should find a buyer for Jesus and then buy Haaland.

Whatever happens, it's going to be a box office summer!

Have you hacked my emails ;)

Jesus is the one I suspect will be deemed acceptable damage in keeping Sergio another season AND buying Haaland/another top grade forward.

As you say, Messi is a stand alone and always has been, financially speaking.

 

[Stockport Blues]

I see it like this.

Haaland replaces Aguero's wages.

Messi pays for himself as per Omar's interview with the Athletic.

If they wanna keep Aguero, they should find a buyer for Jesus and then buy Haaland.

Whatever happens, it's going to be a box office summer!

How confident are you it will be Haaland?

 

[The1nvisibleMan]

Have you hacked my emails ;)

Jesus is the one I suspect will be deemed acceptable damage in keeping Sergio another season AND buying Haaland/another top grade forward.

As you say, Messi is a stand alone and always has been, financially speaking.

Surely if Jesus goes we’d then have to replace him when Messi / Aguero would leave and that wouldnt be cheap. Is that a case of they’ll deal with it when they get there?

 

[Parisian]

Paris would be mad to swap two players in their prime for 2 thirty somethings! Neymar's agreed a new deal anyway, and I suspect that Mbappe will in the coming months too.

The real rival for Messi will be the MLS franchises and whoever the new Barca president is.

Neymar is about to renew according to the rumours (Bechler is pretty reliable).

I don't think PSG would swap Mbappé for Messi willingly, it is prolly that Mbappé wants to leave anyway.

With Neymar renewal without a raise, PSG free up around 35 M a year. That would probably be enough for Ramos who i think is just using us to get a new contract, but there is no way PSG can afford Messi while keeping both. Even then, it would mean the team wouldn't get the vital reinforcements it needs.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Aguero's issue will be that nobody not even Barca/Real will give him what he wants at his age. The reality of their financial situations is such that they are trying to SELL over 30 players on big wages. Can't see how they justify adding Kun.

An imperfect storm? Sergio has limited options despite his big name status.

Haaland and Mbappe can still dictate to the market because they represent world class, long-term value.

 

[domalino]

If they wanna keep Aguero, they should find a buyer for Jesus and then buy Haaland.

Keeping a 33 year old injury prone Aguero as back up to Haaland and selling off 23 year old Jesus would be one of the biggest mistakes of the past 13 years of Abu Dhabi ownership in my opinion.

Best case scenario, 12 months later we'd be back in the market for a back up striker having given Aguero his year alongside Messi and we'd not get anyone better than Jesus.

More likely scenario - Haaland gets injured during the 50% of the season Aguero is likely to be out too leaving us with no striker cover. Like Dzeko did 5 years ago, Jesus scores 40+ goals in a side that starts him every week and lets him build up his confidence (all he'd have to do is score at the rate he did last season). Everyone at the club look like complete tits for selling one of the best young strikers in the world in a depressed transfer market and replacing him for a lot more money a year later.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Surely if Jesus goes we’d then have to replace him when Messi / Aguero would leave and that wouldnt be cheap. Is that a case of they’ll deal with it when they get there?

No idea mate, I had been told it is Messi and another striker this summer.

We also really want Grealish this summer, so fuck knows all the moving parts.

 

[The1nvisibleMan]

No idea mate, I had been told it is Messi and another striker this summer.

We also really want Grealish this summer, so fuck knows all the moving parts.

Any word on outgoings? There seems to be some obvious choices to depart

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Keeping a 33 year old injury prone Aguero as back up to Haaland and selling off 23 year old Jesus would be one of the biggest mistakes of the past 13 years of Abu Dhabi ownership in my opinion.

Best case scenario, 12 months later we'd be back in the market for a back up striker having given Aguero his year alongside Messi and we'd not get anyone better than Jesus.

More likely scenario - Haaland gets injured during the 50% of the season Aguero is likely to be out too leaving us with no striker cover. Like Dzeko did 5 years ago, Jesus scores 40+ goals in a side that starts him every week and lets him build up his confidence (all he'd have to do is score at the rate he did last season). Everyone at the club look like complete tits for selling one of the best young strikers in the world in a depressed transfer market and replacing him for a lot more money a year later.

I do wonder if Gabby will be happy to stay behind other forwards coming in?

All the tough answers seem to suggest Aguero is allowed to leave, for the long term benefit?

 

[domalino]

I do wonder if Gabby will be happy to stay behind other forwards coming in?

I think that's why Pep has spoken about him playing on the wing more recently.

If Jesus played on the wing more often alongside a striker then I think the side would be in a much better place. In the same way Son was able to play 9 without Kane very successfully under Pochettino, if the back up striker is getting regular game time then you solve a lot of problems. Less pressure to make this count, more games and goals under their belt means they're probably in decent from and confident.

Also bearing in mind Messi is not going to do any real pressing, having Jesus' work rate on the wing, or dropping into midfield from #9 would really help out in some games.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

I think that's why Pep has spoken about him playing on the wing more recently.

If Jesus played on the wing more often alongside a striker then I think the side would be in a much better place. In the same way Son was able to play 9 without Kane very successfully under Pochettino, if the back up striker is getting regular game time then you solve a lot of problems. Less pressure to make this count, more games and goals under their belt means they're probably in decent from and confident.

Also bearing in mind Messi is not going to do any real pressing, having Jesus' work rate on the wing, or dropping into midfield from #9 would really help out in some games.

Have always thought Jesus' best games for us have been playing wide left, his dribbling skills are better than Sterling's, certainly.

Can't believe still only 23.

 

[kaz7]

Keeping a 33 year old injury prone Aguero as back up to Haaland and selling off 23 year old Jesus would be one of the biggest mistakes of the past 13 years of Abu Dhabi ownership in my opinion.

Best case scenario, 12 months later we'd be back in the market for a back up striker having given Aguero his year alongside Messi and we'd not get anyone better than Jesus.

More likely scenario - Haaland gets injured during the 50% of the season Aguero is likely to be out too leaving us with no striker cover. Like Dzeko did 5 years ago, Jesus scores 40+ goals in a side that starts him every week and lets him build up his confidence (all he'd have to do is score at the rate he did last season). Everyone at the club look like complete tits for selling one of the best young strikers in the world in a depressed transfer market and replacing him for a lot more money a year later.

Back on planet earth ,gabby does not get fourty goals ,he has had a year to step up

Losing sane is the worst thing we have done

 

[The1nvisibleMan]

Back on planet earth ,gabby does not get fourty goals ,he has had a year to step up

Losing sane is the worst thing we have done

Not much we could have done about Sane was there? He wanted to go and was pretty set on it

 

[Coatigan]

Devil's advocate.

Give Kun a new deal or sign Messi?

(you can't have both)

Messi.

Without even having to think about it.

 

[domalino]

Back on planet earth ,gabby does not get fourty goals ,he has had a year to step up

Losing sane is the worst thing we have done

Well he scored 22 goals and got 10 assists in the 33 games he started last year, despite being in and out of the side.

If he played a full 40-50 game season, I've no doubt he'd be putting up the kind of numbers Dzeko did when he got his starting role back.

 

[BillyShears]

Keeping a 33 year old injury prone Aguero as back up to Haaland and selling off 23 year old Jesus would be one of the biggest mistakes of the past 13 years of Abu Dhabi ownership in my opinion.

Best case scenario, 12 months later we'd be back in the market for a back up striker having given Aguero his year alongside Messi and we'd not get anyone better than Jesus.

More likely scenario - Haaland gets injured during the 50% of the season Aguero is likely to be out too leaving us with no striker cover. Like Dzeko did 5 years ago, Jesus scores 40+ goals in a side that starts him every week and lets him build up his confidence (all he'd have to do is score at the rate he did last season). Everyone at the club look like complete tits for selling one of the best young strikers in the world in a depressed transfer market and replacing him for a lot more money a year later.

Not for me. I think Jesus is done at City full stop. Sometimes it doesn't work out for a player and they have to move to find their real value/potential. He falls into that basket. Think it's telling the shots that Pep has fired at him both directly and indirectly in the last few weeks.

In terms of Haaland/Messi/Aguero has options for the 9 position I think that's pretty impressive with the false 9's we have the in squad too.

Jesus will get replaced with a young player too I imagine.

 

[Coatigan]

Allowing Sergio and Fern's deals to elapse this summer is worth roughly £350k a week to City, that is obviously a big chunk of change.

Now going along with BillyShears' hypothetical, if you had asked Sergion AND dinho for another year , or messi, (cant have both), that makes it more interesting .


Still Messi.

But i had to think about it.

The thing is, legends that they are, both dinho and sergio Are replacable, and how much they'd do in their last year is a question. Messi really is one of a kind.

 

[01cravend]

Well he scored 22 goals and got 10 assists in the 33 games he started last year, despite being in and out of the side.

If he played a full 40-50 game season, I've no doubt he'd be putting up the kind of numbers Dzeko did when he got his starting role back.

Put it this way if Gabby was at Dortmund they'd sell him for over £100mil