After a humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich, Barcelona are in shambles at the moment. To make matters worse, star player Lionel Messi has told the club he wishes to leave this summer in a stunning turn of events, according to Marcelo Bechler.
Lionel Messi Wants to Leave Barcelona Immediately
Massive Rebuild Required at Barcelona
It is obvious given the nature of the scoreline, but the loss in Lisbon was not a fluke; it was the result of years of mismanagement of funds and players. This has left the club needing to make drastic changes in order to get back on top.
A big part of that is the revamping of their squad, bringing a more youthful, exciting, fit attacking lineup that can possibly return Barcelona to their glory days. The starting line-up against Bayern had an average age of nearly 30, the oldest team they have ever fielded in the Champions League, and it showed.
Most of the players currently at the club are past their prime, including Messi. While the Argentine is one of the only senior players whose future is still guaranteed (should he want to stay), Barcelona will likely focus more on their youth in the coming seasons.
Since Messi would be tasked with leading the rebuild by nurturing the younger players, he would be ending his career, the greatest player in the world, as a glorified babysitter. Surely he cannot want that, so this may be why he’s angling for a move.
Messi Doesn’t Have That Many Years Left at the Top
The day that nobody wants to come, the day that most in the world try not to think about, is getting closer with every passing year. We may not want to believe it but at some point, Lionel Messi will retire.
Given that his time is numbered, Messi wants to be challenging for major trophies, and it doesn’t seem like he’ll be able to, for a few years at least, at the Camp Nou.
While it may be difficult for the 33-year-old to leave the club that has given him everything, it would be difficult to blame him if he wants to leave, especially now that it looks like club president Josep Maria Bartomeu will not be resigning.
Barcelona is a sinking ship that is desperately trying to stay afloat, but they need to stop relying on Messi’s magic to save them every year, and this could be the right time to part ways after over 15 seasons.
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