There are few names that have now been traditionally popping up every summer transfer window since the past few years and one that tops the list is Barcelona star, Lionel Messi. The Argentina skipper has been arguably the best player in the world in recent times and giant clubs with unlimited financial power have always fancied having him in their team.
It won’t be anything different this time and rumours have already started doing the rounds with six months yet to go for the transfer window. According to the Guardian, cash-rich English giants Manchester City are planning to table a £100m bid to bring Messi to the Etihad Stadium. The buzz is further strengthened by the recent lacklustre display that the Spanish side has given in the past week.
After their humiliating 4-0 defeat at the hands of the French side, Paris Saint-Germain, their manager Luis Enrique’s tactics have come under heavy criticism and there was no sign of improvement in their following game against a relegation threatened side Leganes, where the Catalans severely struggled to get the 3 points.
The fans haven’t taken things lightly and Barcelona saw a season-low crowd of just over 63,000 come to watch their team labour to a 2-1 win over Leganés. The crowd booed the manager and an exhausted Messi didn’t even celebrate their last gasp win after he scored from the spot. That kind of reaction was understood after an underwhelming performance and City are willing to make the most of this scenario.
Barcelona fans have reasons to be worried this time. Messi’s contract runs out in the summer of 2018 and Enrique’s shopping last summer has shown little ambition on Barcelona’s part. The boss has relied way too much on the attacking trio leaving a huge dearth of quality in their defence and the frustration could be seen on the players’ faces with the growing failures.
Manchester City is a realistic destination for the forward because it is managed by former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola, who gave Barcelona their last golden era during his stint and shares a brilliant repertoire with Messi. Guardiola has found it difficult to find consistency in the Premier League and is expected to go all guns blazing this summer by bringing in some huge names.
Another reason, pretty much layered but still must be lingering somewhere within Messi, would be his stagnancy at the club. He has won everything and has broken and created almost every record that is possible in La Liga. Premier league enjoys the stature of being a gruelling competition across the world, which every footballer dreams to succeed in. It sure is a dimension where the demi-god is yet to prove himself.
