What do we do if Messi doesn't renew?

SmilerBam said:

tHat's how we ll be without Messi. Battling the likes of Sevilla and Villareal for fourth place. No more title challenges.

Click to expand...

We were 4th, 5th and 6th from 2001 to 2003 and we survived, in fact we reached the new greatness with Ronaldinho and later with Messi.

I mean, so what even if we end 5th in 2 seasons.
It's not as if we have ANY chances in a CL.
So, what is the difference between being KO'd 5:0 against anyone or not playing in a CL for a year or two.
Except, that is always better to play in a CL due to earning money.

But longterm, Barca will always have more money than Seville or Villareal.
So, even in the worst case scenario, we are back in the top3 in 2-3 years.

And as soon as we pay our debts and sell some players (and play with kids and free agents for 2 years), we will be able to buy Haalands and co again, which Sevilla and Villareal will never be able to do.

On the other hand, the world has changed due to sheiks, EPL money and covid.
So, Barca probably won't be no1 like in the past, but it will have it's place in top5-8, alongside EPL clubs, Real, P$G and Bayern, as always.

1. Rejoice, the rebuilding has begun.
2, Move on players, even for free, with wages that are unaffordable.
3. Accept, Barca will not be champions locally or Euro wise for several years.
4. Fans, have to back the Board and not sack them.
5 Barca will win again, but there will be several lean years.

I don't think Messi leaving starts the "rebuild". And neither does he have anything to do with the other players we should clear out. The reality is we make the wage situation work and it's this squad plus Messi or we don't and it's this squad without Messi. I know, groundbreaking stuff.

But we won't be able to get Haaland a year down the line thanks to Messi leaving if that's the wet dream.

Embrace the rebuild, but as always it has to be done gradually and try to be as competitive as you can.
A-Tell Dembele, Roberto that we will owner their contract if they decided to stay, will be welcomed to leave if they bring in an offer.
B-Tell Busquets and Pique we expect next season to be their last, that they should call their leave with fans in the stadium and have a decent goodbye. If they resist, pressure them with their future Barca career. (I believe both would leave next summer if they are asked to)
C-Build next year team around Griezmann, but with an eye on Fati and Pedri as the new face of Barca. Take it step by step with them.
D-If we have the funds, go for Kounde. Time to start our rebuild with sorting our defense. A CB group of Kounde, Araujo, Eric and maybe Minqueza is promising one.
E-Next summer, either get a wing who makes a difference or sign a no9 who can score goals

We also need a new keeper. MATS has, unfortunately, lost a step. Unless Neto is his longterm replacement, we need to invest.

It will be easier to rebuild and set the functionality of the team without Messi being here. It will be easier to re-structure the new salary structure without the cap eaten by one franchise player.

But it will be harder to admit it and say it because of the history of Barcelona with Messi, and the engrained emotional attachment in Catalunya.

The global marketability of the club will always be linked to it's success.

But, the highest revenue football clubs in the world for 2021 are both Real Madrid and Barcelona. While the most marketable football player in the world is Cristiano Ronaldo.

Meanwhile Real Madrid lost Cristiano Ronaldo 3 years previously yet still maintained the equal top spot in terms of revenue. Does that mean Madrid have managed to build a stronger global brand than Barcelona to survive strongly in 3 years post Ronaldo, while Barcelona cannot without Messi?

Madrid even maintained 50% of the marketing rights of Ronaldo while Messi owns 100% of his.

So I think this Messi or nothing approach is greatly exaggerated and more down to the perception of being the board to not renew Messi, then the reality of the financial benefits that maintaining Messi will bring.

Messi is 34, either way he can't carry Barca for much longer anyway. Soon the team has to function without him, and the club can't rely on him for marketing forever.

If there is no renewal it would just speed up the inevitable a little bit. I hope he can stay because it's Messi and i just can't imagine seeing him play for another club but if the financial situations is really that bad it might not be worth it to sacrifice so much for like 1-2 more seasons.

BBZ8800 said:

No offense, but I want him leave.

This is how I see our current situation:
1) if Messi stays + we sign Aguero, Depay = we won't win anything
2) if Messi stays + we don't sign anyone = we won't win anything
3) if Messi leaves + we sign Aguero, Depay = we won't win anything
4) if Messi leaves + we don't sign anyone = we won't win anything
5) if Messi leaves + we don't sign anyone + we sell Cou & Dembele = we won't win anything

1. even if Messi stays, he will be older and less good than in the last season
2. Koeman is still a coach, who hasn't won a single match against big teams last season
3. Busi, Pique, Alba and a lot of players are even older than before
4. Aguero and Depay don't look like players who will strengthen the team, they'll just add some depth to a decling, dying team who either way can't win anything

So, if Messi stays, we will just get one more year of watching him in our shirt and one more year of individual records.
Team wise, we won't get anything and rebuilding wise and moving on away from Messi wise, we won't get anything.

Click to expand...

Messi leaving is best for both parties

JamDav1982 said:

No it wouldnt.

Barca even with current squad would be closer to title than fourth.

Click to expand...

Definitely.

Yeah, Messi gives us the extra boost to winning the title, but we definitely wouldn't struggle with the likes of Sevilla. La Liga isn't even that strong of a league anymore.

If Leo leaves, I think Barca can still survive. Sure the likes of Fati and Griezmann (debatable I guess) may thrive in Messi's absence, we should focus more on building and playing like a proper rather than praying for someone to step up and carry the burden Leo carries for us. Smart transfers and promoting good youngsters from La Masia can help with this transition.

There's no Messi in France and he still struggles to score open play goals for them during the EUROS and World Cup. He's still busy running around midfield being a defender more than a forward.

Griezmann's highest league goalscoring season was 22 in a team built around him that seemingly suit his strengths.

I'm okay if we have no decision but to move on from Messi, but expecting Griezmann to be even 50% of the current Messi just sounds foolish to me. Messi is still at worst a top five player in the World IMO.

Can you honestly say Griezmann in his current state is even top 15?

I don't think we'll fail to make top four without Messi, but it's going to hurt. A lot. A lot of guys are going to be exposed when the pressure is on them to step up and carry the team.

Hey, don't get me wrong. Cos I called out Griezi in my previous doesn't mean I expect him to lead the rebuild. I emphasized on teamwork, not individual performances or brilliances.

That's fair, but team work alone won't compensate for the loss of Messi. Not like we have Sacchi on our bench either to cook a tactical masterpiece. Our manager has gotten fired from multiple jobs lol.

DonAK said:

That's fair, but team work alone won't compensate for the loss of Messi. Not like we have Sacchi on our bench either to cook a tactical masterpiece. Our manager has gotten fired from multiple jobs lol.

Click to expand...

Be optimistic that it'll work out, cos a tactical guru will be really hard to find in our current predicament.