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Manu Fernandez / Associated press
Lionel Messi seeking transfer out of Barcelona, journalist says Marcelo Bechler.
Messi’s current contract expired after the 2020-21 season. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if he forged an exit before that after Barcelona’s 8-2 Champions League loss to Bayern Munich revealed just how dysfunctional the club are on and off the pitch.
Messi could have been 33 in June, but he could probably name his next stop, such would be the demand for his services. Although the six times Ball Golden the winner is on the wrong side of the aging curve, still able to achieve incredible goals.
Athletic’s Adam Crafton wrote this match analysis from a 2017 El Classic showed how Messi was more economical with its movement:
“In the presentation, they focused on a game between Barcelona and Real Madrid in 2017, when Messi walked 83 percent of the five miles in the game. Traditionally, football coaches would view this as inadequate from a top player but using Metric data, Fernandez and the children were able to demonstrate how Messi identified “high value locations” to create opportunities for Barcelona. Bobby Gardiner, a data scientist at a major European club, wrote an article interpreting the research and concluded that “ 66% of the times Messi gained control of a precious space, he walked. Even while walking, he helps his team by holding ground in valuable areas, waiting for the ball to come towards him.
Even assuming Messi is past his prime, his time as a world-class footballer is not over.
Losing Messi would obviously be a devastating blow for Barcelona, both in terms of the playing team and what that would mean on a symbolic level. The Argentine star has spent his entire professional career in Catalonia. His transfer would represent a major rebuke as to where he thinks the club are at.
To some extent, sell Messi It could be the kind of system shock Barcelona need to make meaningful changes.
“Coaches and players come and go, but it has been several years since we have been able to compete at European level”, Gerard Pique told reporters after the Bayern defeat. “… The club needs changes. And I’m not talking at the level of the coach or the players, but structurally the club needs changes of all kinds. We need to bring new blood to change this dynamic, and if necessary, I will be the first to go. “
The beating 8-2 at the hands of Bayern follows a 4-0 loss to Liverpool in last year’s quarter-final second leg and a 3-0 collapse at the hands of Roma in the 2017-18 quarter-final second leg.
In recent seasons, Barcelona have stayed near the top of La Liga thanks in large part to The presence of Messi. Their dependence on him is then revealed in the Champions League.
As long as he stays at the camp No, the problem could persist.
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