blueinsa said:
Some still refuse to accept the rise of our great club and are stuck in ikkle ciddy mode.
All roads point to us, if he does get moved on i might add.
I don't think it's about ikkle city mentality, more that people see Messi as inextricably linked to that generation (Xavi, Iniesta, etc). In many respects it's understandable.
I just think the list of reasons why he potentially will make the move to City is beginning to out weigh his history with Barca. People say "new board new manager he'll stay" but Messi is ambitious as fuck. Why would a new board and new manager change the footballing reality that for the foreseeable future they're only going to end up further and further behind Real.
Barca's financial situation also isn't quite what it's made out to be. The current board have put together plans to rebuild Camp Nou with 200 million euros in loans from various banks. This is something which looks nice on paper, but long term will further inhibit their ability to spend on players, especially once the TV monies are split more evenly which isn't far away.
It's also worth looking at the Messi's financial situation too. The tax case against them has led to fines in excess of 20 million euros which they are personally liable for. Before we even get into the political ramifications of this, it is on record that the family were furious with Barcelona last year for not doing more to defend or protect them, and for not ponying up the money to cover the fines he's received. I realise it's easy to say "yeah well they can afford it" - but if you've got a net worth of a 100 million and you have to pay out 20 million in cash that's a big %. Sure he'll earn it back over the next five years, but it's also true to say that if he were to move his signing on fee would eclipse the fine. 20 million pounds isn't to be sniffed at.
That's the tip of the iceberg in terms of the case for why he'd want to leave Barca.
What about from Barca's point of view? Well regardless of the noise their supporters will make, the reality is that Messi is rapidly becoming bigger than the club itself. In Wednesday's press conference Bartomeu was asked "does Messi run the club?" in reference to Tata's sacking, his not showing up for training, and his falling out with Enrique. The implication was clear, the club are powerless in the face of whatever demands Messi makes. Doesn't matter how he answered (he floundered) - the truth is that even in the eyes of some Barca supporters the situation is becoming uncontainable and bad for the club. On top of this Messi isn't Iniesta or Xavi because he doesn't see himself as Barca through and through the way they do. He has threatened to leave the club twice before, he has played power games and political games to get more money - his camp have even gone so far as to say that spoke to Perez and Madrid during his previous contract negotiations. If I were in Barca's shoes, if there was a club prepared to pay close to his buy out, I'd be encouraging the bid (rumours are this board did last season). 200 million would pay for their shiny new stadium leaving them way stronger in the transfer market come the end of their transfer ban.
I may well be wide of the mark but my opinion remains if we hadn't had FFP sanctions we'd have signed him last summer. It's no coincidence that he only signed his new contract 3 days after our FFP sanctions were announced having spent the previous three months voicing his unhappiness through the media and through lacklustre performances.
As always in football things can change on a dime. But as things stand I'd say there's an 80% likelihood he'll be a City player by the end of next summer.
