We should remember that the signing of players are an means to an end: the creation of a team that wins games and titles, rather than an end in itself.
Messi is an ego-project for some Manchester City fans who are desperate for their club to be taken seriously but the way to do that is to re-build our side, and particularly a defence that is no longer fit for purpose. Liverpool won the league because they were a machine. They don't have the flair of Kevin de Bruyne or the dancing feet of Bernardo but neither do they have a 35 year old midfielder playing at the heart of their defence. They were truly hard to beat whereas Manchester City could monopolise possession for 70 minutes of the 90 and concede a goal to the first serious counter-attack. Manchester City became a soft-touch and by the end of the season Pep was so frightened of another CL quarter final defeat that the man of footballing principle panicked and filled his midfield with defensive players.
Now is the time to fix City's broken team. City have signed the cultured Nathan Ake but many fans fear the ghost of Kompany. His boots lie empty only to be filled by a right sided defender. Speculation centred on the matador of Naples. Legend tells he floored Salah but fighting is a young man's game. Spanish headlines this morning turn to the Berber City of Seville, and their young defender Kounde. Not much is known about their young lion but he appears ferociously quick and fierce in the tackle. City fan's will hope that the tale ends here in the Arab city of Seville.
