Puzzles about the future of Lionel Messi

Now what, Lionel Messi? The recovery from the family vacation in Florida and Ibiza - gone. Even if Messi has the football world more or less at his feet, the now 34-year-old has never found himself in a situation like this. Just a few weeks after he finally celebrated his first major title with the Argentine national team at the Copa América, Messi is back now looking for a job following the failed negotiations with FC Barcelona . And that – according to the tenor of the media from Messi's adopted homeland for 21 years – was involuntary.

A year ago he wanted to leave, with all his might and absolutely. But now everything had indicated that after a few weeks without a contract, he would soon sign a new one. He wanted to stay at Barça and had not yet negotiated with any other club, reported the Catalan broadcaster RAC1 and assured: Messi was “deeply affected”. The failure of the negotiations was obviously not foreseen in Messi's future plans. PSG or Man City? Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have already been mentioned in international media as possible new employers for the Argentine. According to a report from Sky Sport Italia, the top French club has already made an initial contact.

Will the two of them work together again soon? Messi and Guardiola. © SID / JOSEP LAGO

Barça President Joan Laporta now wants to comment on the failure of the negotiations in a press conference on Friday morning. The club's official justification - league statutes prevented a new collaboration - raises questions. One of Spain's best-known and most respected football commentators, Julio Maldonado, wrote on Twitter: "This is a very hard blow not only for FC Barcelona but also for the league." Mega loss for the Spanish LaLiga Three years ago Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid and with it the Primera División, now it is probably Messi. “How could they have put themselves in such a predicament?” asked former England professional and current TV pundit Gary Lineker.

Later in the evening, FC Barcelona also released a video paying homage to the player who came to Barcelona from Rosario in Argentina in 2000 as a 13-year-old and shaped the club like no other. Over seven minutes, just the best from Messi, who won 35 titles with the club, is the top scorer with 672 goals in the club's 121-year history and played 778 games. There won't be more. “Big soap opera” France's sports newspaper "L'Équipe" has already predicted this summer's "big soap opera" regarding the South American's future club. At PSG in Paris, Messi would celebrate a reunion with his former Barcelona colleague Neymar and also compatriot Angel di Maria. But Manchester City should also continue and, according to “Marca”, now even be the first option, especially since Pep Guardiola continues to train there and is therefore the coach under whom Messi really blossomed in Barcelona.

Football fans hardly dare to imagine which team could end up playing there after the club brought in the English international Jack Grealish from Aston Villa on Thursday evening for a record fee of around 118 million euros. With Messi, only the – albeit generous – salary would be due. But there is also speculation as to whether he could possibly move to Inter Miami, David Beckham's club in the American MLS, and "El Mundo deportivo" also did not rule out a "millionaire experience" in Qatar before the World Cup there at the end of next year.

Messi has to decide. Messi has lived with his wife and three sons on the coast in Castelldefels, south of Barcelona, for a long time and feels at home there. So what now, Lionel Messi?

ES Primera Division International	SP	TV	P
1. Real Madrid	34	74:22	87
2.Girona F.C.	34	73:42	74
3. FC Barcelona	34	70:43	73
4. Atletico Madrid	34	63:39	67
5. Athletic Bilbao	34	55:33	61
6. Royal Society	34	48:35	54
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Puzzles about the future of Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi is – strictly speaking – still unemployed. The 34-year-old Argentine is said to have expected to stay at FC Barcelona, Spanish media report. Plan B? Not known. Speculation is growing.

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Football

Italy

International leagues

International

Winter sports

Hockey

Tennis

Other sports

Motorsport

Cycling

Watersports

Events

Favorites

Puzzles about the future of Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi is – strictly speaking – still unemployed. The 34-year-old Argentine is said to have expected to stay at FC Barcelona, ​​Spanish media report. Plan B? Not known. Speculation is growing.

Suggestions

Comments (0)

Lionel Messi is – strictly speaking – still unemployed. The 34-year-old Argentine is said to have expected to stay at FC Barcelona, Spanish media report. Plan B? Not known. Speculation is growing.