Why Barcelona should consider selling Messi

 

The Argentina captain is at odds with the club over a new contract but with the need for renewal urgent around Camp Nou, should Barca take the money and run?

The current contractual stand-off between Barcelona and Lionel Messi is only likely to end one way - with the top scorer signing a mammoth new deal which will be the richest in football. There is a long way to go, however, on that front and the Catalans might well consider their options despite the transfer ban looming.

The club are believed to be offering Messi a five-year contract worth €200 million. That equates to €40m per season. Messi is alleged to be unhappy at the terms offered. He feels he is worth more than that. With his current deal expiring in 2018, his transfer value will never be higher. Last summer Barca legend Johan Cruyff suggested that Messi should be sold in order to accommodate Neymar in the line-up. He also accurately predicted that Barca would suffer from playing the two together. After the season Barcelona have endured something has got to give.

There are rumblings in the Spanish press this week that Barca are laying the ground work for a Messi sale over the summer. It would be the costliest transfer in the history of football.

Paris St-Germain and Manchester City are the only two clubs who could do a deal for Messi in the current market but it could be a gamble worth taking for Barcelona. Would they rather take €200m for Messi and rebuild their team - transfer ban notwithstanding - or give him €200m with no guarantee that his best days are ahead of him?

That transfer ban will hurt them this summer more than any other because they are in need of a drastic overhaul. They need players in practically every position and so they desperately need to have it overturned. The appeal process continues and Barca expect that their legal team will achieve a favourable result.

And maybe Messi is in need of a fresh challenge himself. Four Ballons d'Or and a wealth of titles have been accrued during his time at Barcelona. He has smashed every record in the book. On a sporting level, there is not a lot for him left to achieve at Camp Nou. The way Messi has played this season suggests that life without him for Barcelona is not as unthinkable as it once was. Pep Guardiola reportedly walked away from Barca after failing in his attempt to clear out what he saw as distracted and under-motivated players. Messi, legitimately, finds himself in that category today.

The 26-year-old has scored 25 league goals this season but there are indications that all is not well. He has struggled for the best part of a year with various knocks and niggles. His output on the field has noticeably decreased. Barca are enduring a torrid season and Messi cannot be absolved from blame. He endured derision for failing to cover the ground in the Barca's Champions League loss to Atletico Madrid. Radomir Antic, the former Barca coach, suggested that Messi deliberately failed to keep up as a means of punishment to Tata Martino who fielded him out of position.

Messi remains behind only Cristiano Ronaldo as the best player in the world but there are reasons for Barca to contemplate selling.