Barcelona without Lionel Messi is an extremely frightening idea

Lionel Messi’s relationship with Barcelona is unique in a number of ways

Some players share a very special relationship with their clubs. That connection stays alive through thick and thin, irrespective of manager and other management factors. Lionel Messi is one of those players, and his bond with Barcelona is hard to describe in words.

Whenever Messi gets the ball, the Camp Nou is almost to its feet. This is because the crowd what can happen, what he can do. Many other stars of this generation have similar sway over fans, most notably Cristiano Ronaldo.

But the difference between those players and Messi is the fact that Messi cannot be termed as ‘effective’. Footballers are judged on their effectiveness on the pitch, and their contribution towards the team. But judging Messi by those standards is an insult to him and to football.

Messi transcends such things. With the ball at his feet, Lionel Andrés Messi is not a footballer. He is an artist. Whenever Messi passes the ball, it is like the violin maestro plucking at his strings nonchalantly. Whenever he curls the ball into the net from a free-kick, it is like a painter applying the final flourish on his masterpiece.

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Every Messi performance is a masterclass in ‘The Beautiful Game’. In fact, the Argentina international justifies this tag more than any other player in the history of football, with the exception of his compatriot Diego Armando Maradona.

But somehow, that magic is absent when he dons the Argentina shirt. He has the players to complement his genius, but he fails to replicate that same level of excellence on the international stage. For Argentina, Messi is one of the best in the world. For Barça, he’s the best in the world.

This is because of his connection with the club. Whenever he dons the Barça shirt, Messi commands unparalleled respect from everyone in the stadium. This was evident in the fact that Messi’s goal against Real Betis was applauded by opposition fans too.

For this reason, even imagining a Barça side without Leo Messi is very frightening. It is abundantly clear that no other player can match Messi. But most importantly, no one else can share the connection with the club and the Camp Nou that Messi does.

Barça can spend millions, even billions, but they will not find a successor to Lionel Messi in the true sense of the word. Messi will leave a void at Barcelona which no one can fill.