I was reading a report about Lionel Messi the other day and why he is currently weighing up his options. Staying with Barcelona is obviously still an option but somehow I think that is his only option. His age is against him being 33 so possibly he has two seasons maybe three left in him at the most.
Messi earns a small fortune each year with his salary topping out at somewhere close to $120 million. Barcelona's wage bill is the biggest in football at around $500 million per year. If they moved Messi on now they would at least be able to start rebuilding.
Having joined Barcelona at the age of 13 and he has been there 20 years now this is a big move if he does decide to leave. This may be the hardest thing he has ever done as he knows no different as 20 years is a career longer than most. The average player would at least play for two or three clubs during their career. Most clubs would cash in at the end offering another club the twilight years but Messi is still scoring goals and topping the stats again this season in La Liga.
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This season he scored 25 goals with 21 assists and created 89 chances. Most clubs would give their eye teeth for those sorts of stats and it will be interesting to see how this unfolds. There are literally only a few clubs who possibly would be interested in his services. The age is an issue as it leaves a club only a couple of seasons to try and make some money back through merchandise and marketing.
Over the last decade it was always Ronaldo and Messi fighting for honours at their rival clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona. Ronaldo moved to Italy and joined Juventus which could be a similar route for Messi. Italy offers a tax free scheme for players and knowing Messi's tax history this could be what swings his thought process. The Chinese owned Inter Milan may just pay his salary knowing he would attract Chinese fans and support for the club.His jersey may just be worth his salary in sales.
According to Transfermarkt he is valued at $112 Million down from $180 Million two seasons ago. The issue is this was not a normal season with most clubs being strapped financially by the forced lock down and no supporters paying to attend the matches.This is why I believe there are literally a handful of clubs who would even consider him right now as a possible target.
The risks are high knowing you only have two or maybe 3 seasons left in a players career. There is always the chance of injuries even though he looks fitter than ever. This season he started in 84% of Barcelona's matches and is the first name on the team sheet.
If he was to pack his bags and go I can see him at a Manchester City due to the Pep connection. Manchester City is backed by Arabs with oil money the same as PSG who have Neymar another former team mate. David Beckham may see this as an opportunity his team cannot afford to miss with his Miami franchise. We are talking of only a very few elite clubs who would see the marketing side as justification to sign him.
Messi like any other footballer wants to win trophies so staying at Barcelona for another two or three seasons will limit that opportunity. The club is going into a rebuilding phase which will create much uncertainty with few opportunities for silverware. For this reason I see him moving on to one of the 3 teams mentioned above. I somehow don't see him selecting an Italian team even though the tax free salary would be enticing. He wants trophies and PSG are in the Champions League Final against Bayern Munich,if they win this then I think his decision will be much harder.
Who knows as he may just stay after all feeling duty bound to helping Barcelona through this next phase. The 20 year career with one team may just continue after all making him even more special to the people of Barcelona.