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Could Kevin De Bruyne and Lionel Messi be Pep Guardiola’s new Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi? Messi at Man City is not a new rumor, but it has been refreshed for a new season.
Mark quotes several English newspapers, but you didn’t need a report to know those dots would be connected after Barcelona and Man City were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League to breathtakingly different degrees this week.
You can also include as sources anyone who likes to debate the obvious given Josep Maria Bartomeu’s utter mess at Barcelona and Guardiola’s connection with Messi.
[ MORE: Three things from Man City’s UCL exit ]
Barca’s 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich laid bare the club’s aging and underperforming unit (PST’s Andy Edwards pretty much passed the autopsy). And the glaring failures of a number of City forwards against Lyon on Saturday bordered on comedy. Okay, they’re not contiguous. They built a house.
Speaking of houses, Messi has decorated a junkyard this season and covered a myriad of proverbial cracks. As Barca rebuild and Man City look to ‘get over the hump’, is it a perfect match? With Eric Garcia already eyeing Barca, could a wild bundle of trade and money options do it?
Why do Man City choose Messi?
The “Should it?” leaving is a question, but there is an intriguing argument to be made for the Argentine to get to City, KDB shifting to a more central role to allow Messi to take the privileges of the Belgian.
Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus led the Premier League in goals expected every 90 minutes, with Aguero edging his young Brazilian team-mate by 0.96-0.94. Aguero has scored 16 times at his 15.5 xG, while Jesus should have scored 21 goals compared to his run of 14.
Messi has a release clause of over $ 700million, enough for any club to sweat financial fair play let alone bankruptcy. The players would have to go the other way and Jesus would probably be at the top of the list.
Messi is the best player in the world and some would say the best to do it.
The 33-year-old is coming off a historic season that saw him break the La Liga single-season assists record while scoring 31 times with 26 assists in 44 games in all competitions, despite missing out the first month of the season due to a foot injury. He is one of nine players to have double-digit goals and assists in one of Europe’s top five leagues this season.
It also wouldn’t hurt to keep Guardiola happy, although some City fans seem to think Max Allegri will magically produce something better than the best attacking seasons in Premier League history.
Why would Messi go to Man City?
First, let’s address the obvious: It would be really hard for Messi to finally do it on a cold night in Stoke unless there was a solid draw in the League Cup or the FA Cup. Sad.
Frankly, Messi needs a club that nurtures the last years of his prime rather than knocking him prematurely into the ground.
The terrible build of Barca’s squad meant that 33-year-old Messi played 90 minutes in all 11 league games after the club returned from the coronavirus break. He hasn’t come out of a league game since the schedule arrived in October. Too often Messi has been Barca’s only bright light, such as during the Spanish Super Cup against Atletico Madrid.
There wouldn’t be this problem at Man City.
Messi recently operated in 4-3-3 and Guardiola has used that training a ton this year. Even returning to the historic 2017-18 season at the Etihad, Guardiola loved passing his attack through Leroy Sane on the left wing.
Messi could do the same on the right side while occasionally placing himself for the equally aging Aguero. Raheem Sterling remains on the left side (although he could be sold or traded to fund Messi’s transfer) while Riyad Mahrez receives a heavier dose of responsibility after an incredible 2019-20. Honestly, maybe David Silva decides to stay.
And how about young Ferran Torres learning under Messi? Swoon.
Bernardo Silva and De Bruyne are said to lead the midfielder atop Rodri, who will enjoy life much more with Nathan Ake alongside Aymeric Laporte and – theoretically – a functional left-back against Kyle Walker.
Messi would still thrive in Guardiola’s system even with his top speed dropping. Imagine (assuming Jesus and either Sterling or Bernardo Silva sold):
Ederson
Walker – Laporte – Ake – (back left)
Rodri – Fernandinho
De Bruyne
Messi – Aguero – Sterling
Yeesh.
What other clubs could Messi and Barcelona suit?
The answer is that less than a handful of clubs can afford Messi’s salaries and Barca’s demands. Moreover, Messi’s willingness to go to a club and the passion to leave Barca are by far the biggest variable.
A player concerned about his legacy, even if Messi doesn’t need to be, might not want to go to Paris Saint-Germain and the Parisian ensemble might not have the expense after taking care of the purchase by Neymar. Messi probably wouldn’t want to go to a club without Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, one of whom should probably go, and the allure of PSG could be dead in 2 weeks if they win their long-awaited Champions League.
Juventus won’t buy him with Cristiano Ronaldo and Bayern are well stocked without a lot of money. The arguments against MLS, Qatar Stars League and Chinese Super League Club go back to the legacy point above.
Which brings us to the other Premier League giants. Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United have the weaponry in terms of finance and asset trading. The Reds could make the best argument of the peloton, and if Bartomeu stayed, he would totally make the faux pas by accepting Mohamed Salah or Sadio Mane a few years younger than Messi.
Then again, this same logic could see Bartomeu’s Barca accept a package including John Stones and Eric Garcia, who already want to return to Spain.
How can Barcelona nip this in the bud?
Unless playing on Messi’s loyalty, Barcelona have so much to do to keep their club attractive to the Argentinian, who has eyes and will see a Real Madrid filled with young talent and set to be a title favorite for years to come. .
Messi is probably not very worried about how Barcelona are hiring to be their next manager, given that both Quique Setien and Ernesto Valverde’s failures depend on the inferior talent around him. So it’s about finding value for players like Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann and Samuel Umtiti while recruiting a high-end midfielder and more stable presences at the back.
Head over to WhoScored and check out Barca’s top five players this season (ages in brackets): Messi (33), Suarez (33), Busquets (32), Pique (33), Greizmann (29). Barca started to solve this problem with the purchases of wingers Pedri and Trincao, but better recruitment would have allowed youngsters Carles Alena, Ansu Fati, Riqui Puig and Oriol Busquets to develop into better positions.
Zinedine Zidane was able to do it at Real with Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Fede Valverde among others and – thanks in large part to Barca – Madrid won a league title for a year with major starting pains.
The idea that Messi is a player of one club is admirable but if Bartomeu remains without major changes in his philosophy, which has destroyed what has been built for so long with La Masia academy, the club does not deserve to keep their hands on a gem like Messi.
And frankly, a sale could be the fastest way for Barca to replenish the closet (even though Miralem Pjanic was bought almost exclusively to link young Frenkie de Jong to Messi).
So… more Pep-Messi hugs or not?
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