Lionel Messi is and may forever remain as the greatest ever of FC Barcelona. The Argentine has been a loyal servant for the Catalans for almost two decades but now he is on the verge of leaving the club.
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The forward understands Blaugrana’s situation quite well and knows that he will have to take a massive pay cut if he wants to continue at the club. However, his priority is not with money but with winning trophies.
Messi’s current contract runs out on June 30th after which he will be free to join any club he wishes to. Barcelona is still an option for him but he has laid down a list of strict demands that the club and the new president, Joan Laporta, must follow.
List of demands made by Lionel Messi for a Barcelona renewal
#1 A Competitive team
Messi’s first priority is winning with the team. While receiving his 2020 Pichichi award, the player said that he does not want individual accolades and would rather win for the whole team. However, for the team to win, he needs support from world-class players. Recently, the club made quite a few sub-par signings which lowered the standard of the team.
Messi wants the team to be how it was back in the Xavi–Iniesta era. He needs the team to be competitive enough to win all the tournaments that they participate in. Barca is a club that needs to be fighting for the UEFA Champions League and the league title every season but currently, they are not capable of doing so. Thus, the captain wants the passion back in the team.
#2 A few good signings
Ex-President, Josep Maria Bartomeu, made some terrible financial decisions and some even more terrible transfer decisions during his tenure. The addition of players like Martin Braithwaite, Miralem Pjanic, Phillipe Coutinho, Malcolm, etc, ruined the once-great club that only allowed the most top players into their prestigious family. Messi demands some better signings such as Eric Garcia, Memphis Depay, and Sergio Aguero.
While Garica is sure to come to Camp Nou next season, Laporta is not sure about the other two. The former president is more interested in bringing Erling Haaland to the club. It will be a very tough task to bring the superstar from Dortmund considering their financial situation, but Laporta has good relations with Haaland’s agent, Mino Raiola, and is still trying to get the deal done.
#3 Attention to the younger generation
Messi has a genuine love for the club and that is why he wants the club to flourish even more after he is gone. The task to carry on the legacy of the club then falls on the youngsters of the club and Barcelona have a lot of talented youths. Players like Ansu Fati, Riqui Puig, Ilaix Morbia, and Pedri have what it takes to lead the new era of the club.
However, these players will not blossom unless proper support is given to them. Messi wants the President to assure him that the youth academy players will be given enough attention and proper development so that they can become the next generation of the club and maintain their elite status.
#4 Good communication with the manager
The last couple of managers at Barcelona have not been the best, to say the least. Luis Enrique, while maintaining his status as a top manager, lost the trust of the locker room due to the friction caused by lack of performance and changes within the team. Quique Setien on the other hand could never get the trust of the players as performances were just not up to par and he was extremely scared of using the talented young players.
Ronald Koeman on the other hand has shown that he is capable of communicating with the players and he has won over Messi’s trust by giving a lot of chances to the young players. He has also tried out a lot of tactics and has personally discussed a lot of the tactics with Messi. This is the kind of relationship the player wants with the manager and he will be hoping for more of the same in the future.
#5 Direct communication with Laporta
Lionel Messi and Joan Laporta have a very good relationship as Laporta was the president of Barcelona from 2003-2010. The Argentine was in fact one of the firsts to know that Laporta was running for the presidency again. The president’s main argument was also that he could convince the Captain to stay. This shows us that the two have a good bond but Messi wants to contribute to the club by being more than just a player.
He wants to be involved behind the scenes as well and make important decisions. This is where Laporta needs to be crystal clear with him as the player already had a bad relationship with the former president, Bartomeu, and he would not want to sour the relationship with Laporta as well. Thus he needs good communication from Laporta.
Should Barca meet these demands for Messi?