New Delhi: “No One Bigger Than The Club,” were Barcelona president Joan Laporta’s words when he spoke about club legend Lionel Messi’s departure at the press conference on August 6. After that, one of the biggest clubs in European football – Barcelona witnessed their world go upside down with Messi leaving the club after 21 years.
The financial crisis in the club has hit sky-high as they failed to give a contract to arguably the greatest player of this generation. Messi wanted to stay as he was ready to take a 50 per cent wage cut but the club’s condition is in turmoil and they had little choice but to let go of the six-time Ballon d’Or winner whose exit will cost Barcelona around 137 million euros in brand value. A brutal cost the club will have to pay for losing Messi.
However, Messi is now a Paris Saint-Germain player. He signed a lucrative deal with the French giants for two years with an option to add an extra year. PSG are in search of a UEFA Champions League title which has been missing from their trophy cabinet. In the past few years, PSG spent millions of rupees to sign the best of players to fulfil their UCL dream which includes Neymar Jr, Kylian Mbappe, Angel Di Maria and Keylor Navas.
But in 2021 PSG decided to assemble, probably a dream team for every football fanatic. They signed Georginio Wijnaldum, Achraf Hakimi, Gianluigi Donnarumma and the captains of the two biggest clubs in Europe – Lionel Messi (Barcelona) and Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid). Out of the five signings, four of them were free transfers.
PSG will now march towards their mega UCL dream but what about Barcelona who will be without their talisman Messi?
The Argentine was in tears during the press conference where he addressed his departure from the club but he displayed the same belief and philosophy as president Laporta – “The club is more important than anyone.”
“The squad is great, other players will arrive, players come and go, the club is more important than anyone as Laporta said. People will get used to it. It might be strange at start but they will get used to it,” Messi said.
The new era has begun at Camp Nou and despite a 1.35 billion euro (approx) debt, Barcelona still have a quality squad to take on the rest of Europe.
In the second half of the past decade, it was Messi who carried Barcelona on his shoulders and was instrumental in the club winning so many trophies but now with him gone, the Camp Nou needs something special.
It’s almost impossible to fill Messi’s shoes but football is not an individual sport and so Barcelona, more than ever would need to play like a team now, without depending on any individual brilliance.
Despite losing Messi, Laporta did some smart business in the transfer window by signing Memphis Depay, Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia and Emerson Royal.
Ronald Koeman has a solid squad that can definitely compete for the La Liga title with a quality attacking unit of Memphis, Antoine Griezmann, Aguero, Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele. Barcelona remain one of the fiercest in that department. The midfield has an experienced rock-solid Sergio Busquets – who is also the current captain, alongside him the Blaugranes have some high-quality players like Frenkie de Jong, Pedri and Miralem Pjanic.
Philippe Coutinho might also have the last chance to redeem himself in the Blaugranes colours. But the problem still persists in the defensive department where Koeman has an ageing Gerard Pique, an average Clement Lenglet, an untested Eric Garcia and a couple of rising La Masia products in the form of Ronald Arujao and Oscar Mingueza.
Samuel Umtiti is another center-back Barcelona have, but his performance has gradually dropped in recent years. The defence has let down Barcelona in the recent past, more so in UCL, be it against PSG last season or a humiliating 2-8 defeat to Bayern Munich in the 2019-2020 season.
With a reputation of being one of the biggest clubs in Europe, the Barcelona players need to keep the club’s financial situation aside and start working as a team.
The team kick-started the 2021-22 season with an impressive 4-2 win over Real Sociedad but their journey over rejuvenation has just begun and it’s a long way to go.
As all good things come to an end and it’s time for Barcelona to get over Lionel Messi’s hangover and start working for the future.