What is a team without their superstar? That is a question FC Barcelona should soon begin asking itself. The pandemic seems to have negatively affected one of the world’s richest soccer clubs, and maybe, it can say its success has been its greatest fault. Being the club that brings in the most money isn’t always the best if they have also been the club to notoriously overpay its players.
Who could have ever guessed that FC Barcelona could owe 1.1 billion euros to banks, taxes, rival teams and its very own players? No one could have ever expected a pandemic causing revenue to take such a huge hit. However, anyone with a brain could have assumed that there was some sort of safety net in place in case clubs weren’t able to pull in the usual billion dollar revenue each year. Yet, that doesn’t seem to be the case for FC Barcelona.
FC Barcelona’s diamond in the rough, Lionel Messi, just so happens to be its greatest financial commitment. Messi’s latest contract, signed in 2017, meant a total value of almost $675 million, if he stayed loyal and followed each clause in his 30-page contract.
For a regular person like myself, I can only think, “What an absurd amount of money for a 33-year-old man who has, sometimes, underperformed when his efforts were most needed. Why would Messi be worth this much?”
Some could say it’s because he is the face of FC Barcelona, and this is one of the greatest truths. As soon as this summer, Messi could have the option to move on to another club. This could be a great financial break for FC Barcelona, but is it willing to let him go and is he willing to leave?
I have never been a fan of FC Barcelona. Not because I have not come to realize how talented its players are, but because I have always been loyal to Real Madrid. Yes, I am a Christiano Ronaldo fan, but it goes deeper than that. I remained a Real Madrid fan even after Ronaldo left La Liga.
Considering I am not a Messi or FC Barcelona fan, this question on whether he should stay or go is quite simple. FC Barcelona needs to sever its emotional ties and begin to think from a financial standpoint. Sure the public would be upset that a player who has been with the club for more than half his life is leaving, but it would mean saving $250 million that could keep fans and players happy. Only time will tell whether this aged diamond is really worth the trouble.
