Messi on the move?

PedroSpecialK

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Boston Brawler

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Realistically where could he go?

PSG
City
United
Juve?
Real? Would he? He wouldn't. Right?
PSG has Di Maria, City has Pep and Aguero. Probably comes down to them.

PSG has Icardi and Wanda, so I’d guess it’ll be City unless PSG ship him off.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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The clause apparently expired June 1 or June 10. Messi’s lawyers are claiming that the Covid schedule should allow for that date to be extended but that seems like both a dubious legal claim and not one to be adjudicated quickly.

My guess is that he will leave, but not on a free.

There aren’t many clubs that can pay a 100m transfer fee right now. Maybe PSG. Maybe City. Barca have been interested in Lautaro for a while so some kind of swap with Inter could make sense.

It will never happen but there’s one other club that could use a high scoring RW, will compete for the CL every year, has a manager that doesn’t press much and is used to handling massive egos in his side, and could probably find the money if they really needed to do it.
 

sodenj5

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End of an era. Real struggled at first to find an identity without Cristiano, but they’ve found their footing and have a ton of young talent both currently and in the pipeline.

Barca feels much more like a complete overhaul will be needed.

Edit: also what are Messi’s feelings on Neymar? He was pushing for Barca to bring Neymar back, but there seems to be a weird dynamic there and Neymar didn’t love being in Messi’s shadow. Maybe different with Messi in the twilight of his career and Neymar being more established at PSG.

Messi would absolutely shred Ligue 1.
 
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Kliq

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If Messi went to Ligue 1 I feel like he would play like, 15 matches a year and only focus on Champion's League.

I suppose from a competitive standpoint, the most attractive thing to Messi would be to win another league, probably the EPL. What else is there for him to do at the club level? PSG could pay him for sure, but would he really want to play a non-competitive league and then hinge everything on winning yet another UCL title? If he went to one of the Manchester clubs it would be a fascinating development where he would be playing in the most competitive league in the world and trying to do something new, while still trying to win in UCL.

As a neutral, Messi to Real Madrid would be by far the most entertaining, if only to see the absolute schadenfreude that would come from it.
 

teddykgb

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For some reason there’s a lot of chatter about Inter but it’d really surprise me. In general I’d favor PSG in these things as he could tear that league to shreds for another 3-4 years without much of a problem
 

InstaFace

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If Messi went to Ligue 1 I feel like he would play like, 15 matches a year and only focus on Champion's League.

I suppose from a competitive standpoint, the most attractive thing to Messi would be to win another league, probably the EPL. What else is there for him to do at the club level? PSG could pay him for sure, but would he really want to play a non-competitive league and then hinge everything on winning yet another UCL title? If he went to one of the Manchester clubs it would be a fascinating development where he would be playing in the most competitive league in the world and trying to do something new, while still trying to win in UCL.

As a neutral, Messi to Real Madrid would be by far the most entertaining, if only to see the absolute schadenfreude that would come from it.
I agree, I don't see why he'd leave Barca to go anywhere except the EPL. What little personality insight we have on him is that he's driven to win, at a Kobe / Tom Brady kind of level. He was shaped by Pep, who is cut from the same mould. There are 5 teams in the EPL who could at least plausibly afford him, but I think we can scratch Arsenal and even Chelsea given where they're at right now. But City have to be considered the favorites - helping Pep get over the hump and winning the only thing he hasn't won - and

Bayern and Juve and PSG can afford him, but I'm not sure what he gets out of going there, other than a shot at the CL. His week-to-week opponents are no longer the best teams in the world, and none of those leagues have the depth of La Liga, nevermind the PL.

Also, 120M EUR "loyalty fee"? So much for that!
 

PedroSpecialK

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Right y'all are, my mistake, I missed that

But please for the love of anything and everything keep him away from City. He and KDB are (imo) the two best players on earth right now.
 

Snedds

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For some reason there’s a lot of chatter about Inter but it’d really surprise me. In general I’d favor PSG in these things as he could tear that league to shreds for another 3-4 years without much of a problem
Inter have got a new billionaire owner, so that would be one reason. The Messi's also have Italian passports and have just purchased property in Milan as well (the father I think). That could be linked to a new Italian tax that encourages Italians to come back home having moved abroad.
 

67YAZ

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I'm still skeptical that an Italian team can afford Messi. The 2020 Deloitte Money League pegs Inter at #14, between Atletico and Schalke, some €90m behind Juve. Here's a predictably insanely detailed Swiss Ramble thread on Inter's finances in 2018/19. The short of it is that the current Chinese ownership group is moving the club towards a more sustainable financial footing. One could argue that since Inter has missed out on the UCL a lot the past decade, their revenues would make a quantum leap across all streams if Messi vaulted them into a perennial knock-out stage participant. But Inter probably requires additional strengthening on the field and in the backroom to get there even with Messi as well as additional business staff max out the revenue opportunities. It would be a massive gamble to front the money needed to land Messi, and the Suning Group don’t seem the type to go for it.

Or maybe they will. I mean, how many shots do you get to sign the GOAT?

PSG still seems most likely. Messi loved playing with Neymar and the Qataris can shovel over the cash through any number of sketchy, FFP-circumventing channels to get this done.
 
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67YAZ

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Also get City would get substantial “FU, FFP” value out of signing Messi. Shouldn’t discount spite.
 

saintnick912

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Inter have got a new billionaire owner, so that would be one reason. The Messi's also have Italian passports and have just purchased property in Milan as well (the father I think). That could be linked to a new Italian tax that encourages Italians to come back home having moved abroad.
A ways back I saw a bit of chatter about a different Inter (Miami) as a possible landing zone for Messi. Would be a completely left field move, but who knows.
 

DJnVa

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I’d be shocked any notable player signed with MLS while the US struggles with COVID.
Maybe, but rates in Europe seem to be rising again too, so these seems....I don't know...likely not a huge factor to me.
 

SocrManiac

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I’m an admirer from afar, but is there something about Messi’s lifestyle that would make him purely financially driven at this point?

It seems like his primary goal is to get the hell away from the slow-motion train wreck that is Barca these days. I’m sure he’ll want to maximize revenue to some degree, but will that be his main motivator?
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Marcelo Bechler, the Brazilian journalist in Catalonia who was on this story early (I posted a tweet from him about Messi wanting out in the transfer thread maybe 10 days ago), claims that Messi wants to go to City.

It makes the most sense out of all the possible scenarios that I can see. And would also explain why City has been seemingly dragging their feet about signing Koulibaly.

I think Barca will fight tooth and nail to make sure he doesn’t leave on a free. No idea what the transfer fee will end up being but Barca will really need the money to buy new players.
 

Senator Donut

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Rapids could use a number ten

No idea if it would actually work on the field, but Juve combining Ronaldo with Messi would be awesome entertainment
I think Ronaldo to Juventus was a confluence of several factors. Of the richest clubs in the world, he had already played for City’s rival, Barca’s rival, and was already playing for Real, plus PSG had just acquired Neymar. This eliminated many competing bids from the usual suspects. Besides Juventus, there were not many other conceivable destinations. I expect City and PSG to blow any Juve bid out of the water.
 
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teddykgb

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Marcelo Bechler, the Brazilian journalist in Catalonia who was on this story early (I posted a tweet from him about Messi wanting out in the transfer thread maybe 10 days ago), claims that Messi wants to go to City.

It makes the most sense out of all the possible scenarios that I can see. And would also explain why City has been seemingly dragging their feet about signing Koulibaly.

I think Barca will fight tooth and nail to make sure he doesn’t leave on a free. No idea what the transfer fee will end up being but Barca will really need the money to buy new players.
 

Boston Brawler

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Multiple sites including the Athletic and ESPN reporting he has spoken to Pep about going to City and it’s his preferred landing spot.
 

InstaFace

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I’m an admirer from afar, but is there something about Messi’s lifestyle that would make him purely financially driven at this point?

It seems like his primary goal is to get the hell away from the slow-motion train wreck that is Barca these days. I’m sure he’ll want to maximize revenue to some degree, but will that be his main motivator?
Leo Messi is the highest-paid athlete in the world, bar none. His house in Barcelona is apparently very nice, but he's not known for having a Michael Jordan-esque lifestyle. I assume it's a matter of personal pride, like how US athletes say it's about "respect".

Anyway, let's not discount the possibility that this is a stunt like his "retirement" from the Argentina NT, and that his real goal is to get Bartomeu fired into the sun, and then stay.
 

candylandriots

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If Messi wants a real challenge, he should see if he can get a team in the bottom half into the top 4. I even have somewhere in mind for him...
 

67YAZ

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If I’m in the Barca marketing department, I’m pushing hard for next season’s slogan to be “Mes Que Un Messi.”
 

bosox4283

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Leo Messi is the highest-paid athlete in the world, bar none. His house in Barcelona is apparently very nice, but he's not known for having a Michael Jordan-esque lifestyle. I assume it's a matter of personal pride, like how US athletes say it's about "respect".

Anyway, let's not discount the possibility that this is a stunt like his "retirement" from the Argentina NT, and that his real goal is to get Bartomeu fired into the sun, and then stay.
Years ago, ESPN (I believe...) had an article about Messi and described him a low-key guy who didn't completely fit in any of his worlds. Even though he had been in Barcelona for so long, he kept very attached to Argentina and many of his circles, including like his butcher and hairdresser, were Argentine. But he wasn't really Argentinian since he spent so many of his formative years in Barcelona. I got the sense that he was a family guy who loved to play soccer and avoid the fame as much as possible given he's Messi.
 

Zososoxfan

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I've been following this pretty closely today. First and foremost, I cannot overstate just how absurd and stupid all of this makes Barto and his crew look. They came into a golden goose and ran it into the ground with alarming pace and alacrity. Of course, they left Barca with one last shit sandwich in handing a contract to Koeman before Messi forced their resignation. This isn't a reflection on Koeman one way or another, just one last example that they were willing to try anything to save their own hides one last time.

With respect to Messi landing spots, I think it's a bit broader than people think. First, with Barto out of the picture, we still need to see what comes out of the Barca management. If a group that Messi trusts is empowered, the chances he stays go up. If a group that Messi doesn't trust is empowered, then they will just have to figure out how to get some return for Messi and give him a proper send-off. And even if the new Board has Messi's trust, it's very possible that Messi doesn't want to be part of a new project.

So once Messi determines to leave, the club and he can try to broker a deal with a buying club, or he can agree to a buyout of his Barca contract and become a free agent. If we take @coremiller 's link at face value, there's about $70M in wages due to Messi. No matter how you look at it, a club considering buying Messi will need a lot of base operating revenue. Looking at the Deloitte Football Money List, the first 14 names by football revenue is a good starting point:

1. Barca (fun question will be how far they drop because of all this shit).
2. Real
3. United
4. Bayern
5. PSG
6. City
7. Liverpool
8. Spurs
9. Chelsea
10. Juve
11. Arsenal
12. Dortmund
13. Atleti
14. Inter

From that group, I'd probably ax Liverpool because they actually have a wage structure and their style doesn't really fit Messi, Spurs because we can't have nice things, Arsenal because Kroenke wont, Dortmund because of fiscal responsibility, and Atleti because of style.

1. Real. I won't rule this out because maybe Messi has a weird respect for Zizou or is friends with some of their players. Not likely.
2. United. I think this is way more likely than others think. United have good young players and assuming Messi can't opt out, United could swing a deal involving players plus money.
3. Bayern. Not sure that Messi would be down to press as much as they do, he also seems more likely to go to any other league.
4. PSG. Already discussed--I think they would be thrilled to have him and would move heaven and Earth to do so. Would Neymar go for it??
5. City. He's going here.
6. Chelsea. Because of their young talent, I could legit see this happening.
7. Juve. Would be hilarious and fun.
8. Inter. Big money owner who needs to make a splash. Gets to play with Lautaro, just not the way we all thought.

Likelihood:

1. MANC. The Pep is strong.
2. PSG. Still owned by a SWF. What does Neymar think?
3. Inter. Big money owners, storied club that always has lots of Argentines, easier on cardio than EPL.
4. Chelsea. Could put an awesome package together, headlined by none other than Pulisic!!
5. United. Same as Chelsea, but not as much young talent in spades. Could a Pogba swap work?
6. Juve. Pirlo.
7. Bayern. The Bavarians say nein danke.
8. Real. This is less to do with the fact that it's a rival (Luis Figo is now following Messi on social media), and more that Messi doesn't have any real connection to anyone at the club and if he's going to leave Barca, I think he wants out of Spain entirely.