Messi deserves immense credit for his role in leading Barcelona to the 2019 La Liga title. And yet this was no spur-of-the-moment decision. Later that day, Messi took action. If not, you're tarnishing all of us and feeding things which people say and aren't true. Messi has leverage. Messi expressed his doubts and remained determined to leave the club. Bartomeu had one important thing as leverage: Messi could not stomach a legal battle. The win moved the Catalan club 9 points clear of Atletico Madrid in second place with three games left to play -- but a superior head-to-head record hands them an unassailable lead. The fallout from Valverde's firing was damaging, too. Some comments may be edited for clarification or if they are in breach of our comment policy. His €700m buyout clause was impossible, even for City. Rosario, Posizione: Spaziale, infinito, "mostro", chiamatelo come volete, ma Lionel Messi fa segnare un 2019 da record, l'ennesimo di una carriera che non sembra voler finire mai. How do you prevent those mistakes from happening again and again? Barca had been failing to do that on the pitch; they were failing off it, too. There was a more tantalising prospect, though: Messi might be available for nothing. Their title challenge ended with a 2-1 home defeat to Osasuna on July 16. (CNN)Barcelona successfully defended its Spanish La Liga crown after beating Levante 1-0 Saturday, courtesy of the magical Lionel Messi. "Put aside everything else you've been working on and focus on this," Bartomeu told the club's lawyers. In a conversation that lasted around a minute, the coach told Messi's best friend in the squad that he was not in Barca's plans and should look for a new club. In this reading, Messi's fundamental mistake was a failure to articulate his decision to leave sooner, and to speak directly to the fans -- perhaps, as many other players might have done, on their social media accounts -- before the burofax was sent. Ala destra, Procuratore: Per usare questa pagina è necessario attivare Javascript. Regional Offices: 440 Moy Ave, N9A 2N4, Windsor, Canada. That is slowly happening, but it's coming at the expense of his closest friends at the club: Vidal has joined Inter Milan and Suarez is headed to Atletico Madrid. 2020-09-25 22:24. by Nokwanda Ncwane. But the story doesn't end there. Only one law firm out of at least four consulted, Cuatrecasas, believed the argument had a realistic chance of success. Beyond all that, though, it depends on one thing: on Barcelona having a winning team. AT MANCHESTER CITY, there had been a growing acceptance that signing Messi for free was impossible, so they turned their attention to a negotiated settlement. Kendrick Perkins’ Twitter Feud with Kevin Durant Reeks of Media Hypocrisy, Lou Williams Calls Out Stephen A. Smith For ‘Capping’ About Kawhi Leonard And LeBron James, Kyle Rudolph Duped Into Giving Away His Game-Worn Gloves in Charity Scam, Chrissy Teigen’s Cries for Attention Are Becoming Obvious, Dow Soars as Trump’s Tax Returns Fail to Dent U.S. Stock Market, Nick Foles Over Mitchell Trubisky Is a No-Brainer for Chicago. Messi has said the club must sign young players to freshen up an aging squad. If you see a breach of our Code of Ethics or find a factual, spelling, or grammar error, please contact us. Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only), ESPN+ viewer's guide: Bundesliga, Serie A, MLS, FA Cup and more, Netherlands hire De Boer for national team, Italy in shock as referee, partner killed. Lionel Messi’s case as the greatest football player ever was further burnished on Monday when he was awarded the Ballon d’Or at the France Football awards ceremony in Paris. "The truth is that for a while there hasn't been a project or anything," he said. "I want to be at Barcelona for as long as possible. The original date in Messi's contract had been drawn up to coincide with the end of the season. "For me, money or a clause don't mean anything. Lionel Messi's well-publicised frustrations at Barcelona reportedly all began with Ousmane Dembele's horror miss in the first leg of their Champions League tie against Liverpool in 2019. New signings arrived, flopped and left. Messi, Guardiola and Manchester City all share an obsession with the Champions League. As far as they were concerned, Messi would be staying until 2021. He has them on track for the same result this season in the wake of a stunning, late-game goal in a 1-0 victory over the Atletico Madrid. Vidal received similar treatment. There could be as many as 10 people in the running to replace Bartomeu, too -- Victor Font is one of the early favourites to inherit the role and he has said that, in addition to bringing former Barca midfield maestro Xavi Hernandez back as coach, he wants to make sure Messi stays. Prince William Should Succeed Queen Elizabeth – Sorry Charles! But apart from his team-wide triumphs in La Liga, Messi’s sides failed to live up to expectations over the past year. From the beginning, Messi was not impressed with him despite hyped-up claims of a return to the more attacking, possession-based style of play made famous at the club by Johan Cruyff and, later, Pep Guardiola. A year ago, Lionel Messi set out his terms for staying at Barcelona. SO MESSI STAYS FOR NOW, but so do his doubts, expressed so clearly and concisely when he finally spoke out. Unlike Barca, he viewed City as having a clear strategy and an upward trajectory. 10 has channelled his anger on the pitch before with positive results for the team; he might do so again. Will the new president be able to convince him to renew his deal? Others question whether the prospect of another year of an unhappy Messi is best for Barca. Famiglia, Attuale Nazionale: This is the story -- told with the help of numerous first-hand accounts from sources close to both player and club -- of how Messi's nagging doubts about Barcelona eventually became impossible to ignore, and what happened next. Setien was dismissed. Scopri le migliori foto stock e immagini editoriali di attualità di Messi 2019 su Getty Images. Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets got older. He admitted as much in the interview that brought a temporary end to the crisis this summer: "I've been telling [president Josep Maria Bartomeu] that I wanted to leave all year." ", Those voices believed a managed departure could be beneficial, but the president would not entertain the prospect. Ernesto Valverde had promised not to rest key players for the fixture against relegation-threatened Levante, but there was one notable absentee from the starting lineup. Quanto guadagna Messi al Barcellona. Could they afford Messi's salary? But ESPN has been told that some players thought a fresh start, with a new coach and without Messi, might have been the best for everyone. However, Zinedine Zidane's side has struggled for consistency since star player Cristiano Ronaldo left the club, and it is languishing 15 points behind Barcelona in third. Anche l'anno scorso non c'era contro l'Inter...", Roland Garros | Primo turno | Commento italiano, Il Barcellona cala il poker: 4-1 all'Alavés e 39 punti; Real Madrid avvisato, Valverde nuova stella, Bale ha ancora tanto da dire: le 5 verità di Barcellona-Real Madrid, Barcellona show: segna Messi, Ansu Fati fa doppietta, © Eurosport, una società Discovery 2020 – Tutti i diritti riservati, Dichiarazione sulle nuove forme di sfruttamento. One approach might involve a clear-eyed vision of the kind of team you want to construct. Dembele miskicked, Alisson made the easy save and Messi fell theatrically to the floor, face down in the turf. Griezmann is a player who has failed to adapt for various reasons, including the fact his preferred position is taken by Messi. Despite that, sources told ESPN at the time there were board members who supported letting Messi go. Messi deserves immense credit for his role in leading Barcelona to the 2019 La Liga title. AUG. 24 BEGAN WITH A PHONE CALL from Koeman to Suarez. "I would never take Barca to court because it's the club I love.". Van Dijk was the best backline player in football last year, and it wasn’t especially close. Barcelona face Liverpool in the Champions League and will look to win the Copa del Rey against Valencia on May 25. In the end, the date -- initially widely reported as May 31, later corrected to June 10 -- fell when La Liga was about to resume. Messi spaziale: raggiunge quota 50 gol anche nel 2019, ci è riuscito 9 volte Con il gol realizzato oggi contro l'Alaves, Leo mette a segno per la 9a volta in carriera 50 o più gol in un anno solare. BARCELONA HAD WON NOTHING IN 2019-20, their first trophyless campaign in 12 years. In an interview with Goal's Ruben Uria, Messi announced his decision to stay. ", - Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVVoC4C2ucM. Puoi scegliere tra il rendimento dell'intera carriera e quello di una particolare stagione. 24/giu/1987 (33), Luogo di nascita: Throughout his career, Messi’s leadership has been occasionally called into question; Van Dijk’s, meanwhile, is the driving force behind his teams’ surprising level of success. ABOVE ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS both personal and professional, Messi's discontent stems from his desire to win. Barcelona celebrate winning the La Liga title with three games to spare. Secondo le cifre rese note dal quotidiano Der Spiegel, lo stipendio di Messi sarebbe di 60,3 milioni di euro di fisso più 10,7 milioni di diritti d’immagine. Gerelyn Terzo edited this article for CCN.com. In the 2018 Champions League quarterfinals, Barcelona took a 4-1 lead over Roma heading into the second leg, only to be eliminated by virtue of away goals after a 3-0 shutout. Lionel Messi celebrates his goal against Levante. • Netherlands hire De Boer for national team - ESPN+ viewer's guide: Bundesliga, Serie A, MLS, FA Cup and more. Messi's mind was made up. Laurens: Depay still waiting for call from Barcelona (1:01), Messi and Barcelona: The inside story on how everything fell apart, and what's next, Suarez-Atletico union will be magnificent, Atletico Madrid confirm arrival of Luis Suarez from Barcelona, What Barca fans' ballot means for Bartomeu, the club, Atletico Madrid sign Suarez from Barcelona, Suarez, Simeone union at Atletico could be beautiful byproduct of Barca's implosion. But just because Messi’s career accomplishments and remarkable level of play for a 32-year-old are both unmatched hardly means his Ballon d’Or victory is unimpeachable. Real Madrid won 10 games in a row, while Barca dropped points in four of theirs. ", Messi, in a rare moment of rage, snapped. They haven't even come close. Messi has now won 10 La Liga titles with Barcelona. The forward has been pivotal in his team's success this season and looks set to be named La Liga top scorer with 34 goals already to his name. "Messi has so much power at the club, both on a financial and sporting level," one source said. Everything changed on Sept. 4. Barca were 3-0 up in the first leg of their semifinal against Liverpool. In the end, he won't be the president who oversees Messi's departure; after all, the club's presidential elections will happen on March 20 or 21 next year, before Messi's contract expires. Both firms agreed Barca were in the right and should not give in to Messi's demands. Messi is intensely aware of the impact Barca's European failings will have on his legacy. "I honestly don't like to do these things, but I think everyone should take responsibility for their decisions," he wrote on Instagram. Barcelona's coach Ernes can now focus on securing the treble this season. (1:01). Messi had not been happy at Barcelona -- with the president, the board or management -- for a long time. Once their two-year ban from European competitions was lifted on July 13, they knew they would be the front-runners to sign him if he left Barca. At the end of the 2019-20 season, within a defined period, he could unilaterally rescind his contract and walk away. He knew that Barcelona needed another goal -- the season before, Roma erased a first-leg, 4-1 deficit to advance on away goals to the semifinals -- because his teammates couldn't be trusted to defend a 3-0 lead away from home. Editors' note: This story contains reporting from Moises Llorens, Sam Marsden, Alex Kirkland, Rodrigo Faez and Eduardo Fernandez-Abascal. Sporting director Abidal said in an interview with Sport in February that "a lot of players weren't happy [with Valverde] and weren't working a lot. City were also willing to include players of interest to Barca, such as young defender and La Masia product Eric Garcia, in a deal, although ESPN was told that others, including Gabriel Jesus, Bernardo Silva and Riyad Mahrez, would not be included.