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In the past couple of days, reports have surfaced that arguably the best soccer player in the world, Lionel Messi, could leave his club since boyhood, F.C. Barcelona. Or he couldn’t, you all know how these things go.
Apparently, sources close to Lionel have been spreading the notion that Messi is unhappy with the way he has been, and is currently being, treated throughout his long standing battle with the Spanish government over accusations of tax evasion. A source reportedly close to Messi was quoted saying the following:
“… there are other elite sportspeople who have tax problems and they’ve all been settled administratively, as was the case with Real Madrid players Xabi Alonso and Iker Casillas and tennis star Rafa Nadal. Messi is the only one who faces legal proceedings that could end with him going to jail. He’s fed up with Spain and that’s why he wants to leave.”
The flame of this rumor has been flamed further by the currently strained state of affairs between Spain and Barcelona’s home region, Catalonia. Catalonia is caught in the midst of a debate of whether or not to secede from Spain, and Barcelona has already been warned that it risks being kicked out of La Liga if Catalonia does indeed split.
The other players mentioned in the quote, Alonso and Casillas, as well as tennis star Rafa Nadal, are all associated with Madrid and Spain, as opposed to Catalonia. That could be why they were given preferential treatment by the Spanish government, but, at the moment, that is more a matter of guess work and bias than anything else.
This leaves us with nothing more than the possibility that Messi could leave Barcelona, maybe as soon as this summer. He just as well might not, but that is less fun to think about.
If Messi did leave Barcelona, it would be one of, if not the, most important transfers in the history of soccer. He has had a decline is production at Barcelona after the departure of Pep Guardiola and the decline of the god-like midfield trio of Xavi, Iniesta, and Busquets. All that considered, however, Messi is 27 years old and as good as he has ever been. He is still the second most productive player on the planet this season, behind only the supernova that is Cristiano Ronaldo.
Only so many clubs could realistically afford the sure-to-be-world-record transfer fee that Barcelona would demand for Messi, but all those that could would surely do there best to try and acquire the Argentinian sensation.
Oh, they'd have a lot to drink to. Photo: @KICKTV | Twitter
All things considered, Bayern Munich has to be considered the favorite to acquire Messi. The German giants simply offer the best chance to win trophies. They have the right players to surround him with, and the coach that brought out the absolute best in him. Oh, and they also have the money to throw at him, as well.
Messi’s arrival would probably require the sale of anywhere from one to three of Bayern’s top players, but in a team as deep as Bayern, that would be an easy hurdle to overcome. Even if Bayern had to give up three players from a roster that consists of Arjen Robben, Franck Ribery, Mario Gotze, Xabi Alonso, Robert Lewandowski, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer, Philip Lahm, David Alaba, and Sheridan Shaqiri in order to get Messi, they would still have arguably the best team in the world. That is how deep they are.
If Pep manages to incorporate the best of his tactical genius during his Barcelona years, with Messi and whatever stacked Bayern roster he has at his disposal, he could put together the greatest team that the world has ever seen. Not a small achievement, considering so many believe that Pep’s rendition of Barcelona between 2009 to 2012 was just that.
While this is an especially unlikely unlikelyhood, it is one that is fascinating to think about. The world of soccer rarely entertains such pipe dreams, but, as Messi recently said himself, “sometimes things don’t work out as you planned.”
