Rank Country Gold Silver Bronze Total
    View Today
    Sun, Nov 5

    Messi and Barcelona: walang forever

    Plenty of tears as the great Messi denied a happy ending at Barcelona
    Aug 11, 2021
    PHOTO: AP

    By Gabby Alvarado

    BEFORE the curtains fell on the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday, a drama was unfolding in Europe, complete with copious tears shed by someone who otherwise cold-bloodedly destroys opponents on the football pitch.

    Even casual football fans would be aware by now that Lionel Messi, beloved by Barcelona and regarded as the greatest player of his generation, someone you can compare to Pele and Diego Maradona without being sacrilegious, has departed his boyhood club and moved to mega-rich Paris Saint-Germain.

    That Messi would ever leave Barcelona is unthinkable. A powerful club losing a star player to another team, even one with bottomless pockets, is even more ludicrous.

    After all, it used to be that whatever Barcelona wanted, Barcelona got.

    Remember that pre-Messi, the most sought-after magician, or player, was Ronaldinho. Manchester United, no slouch themselves in the money game, thought they had landed the Brazilian. But when Barcelona came calling, Ronaldinho couldn't say no.

    It was the same with other players: Neymar, Luis Suarez, Rivaldo and even Maradona himself couldn't resist Barcelona's lure.

    How the mighty have fallen

    So how could they let Messi, a player they nurtured since he was 13 years old, go just like that?

    It just goes to show how low the mighty have fallen. With Barcelona awash in debt, a situation exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, they could not afford to keep Messi - even if the great man has agreed to a 50 percent pay cut just for the chance to stay and conceivably end his career with the Catalans.

    If they did not know it before, surely Messi and Barcelona know it now: walang forever.

    And so the tears, plenty of tears, from Messi as he said adios, reluctantly, to his boyhood club.

    Losing Messi is a tragedy for Barcelona that they could not digest, not now or ever.

    ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓

    What no one is mentioning is an even greater tragedy: Barcelona lost Messi for nothing. Zero. Nada.

    Barcelona are in a financial crisis, and here is Messi, their most valuable asset, the one player for whom clubs are willing to break the bank to get their hands on, and Barcelona couldn't get anything in exchange for letting him go.

    As Messi's contract had expired last June, he was available on a free transfer, which means rival clubs can sign him up without paying Barcelona anything. A year ago, when there was one year left on Messi's contract and he tried to leave the club, Barcelona would have gotten loads and loads of money by selling him. Too late for that now.

    And so the tears, plenty of tears, from Messi.

    Lionel Messi crying

    CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓
    Watch Now

    It is true that he is heartbroken to leave Barcelona, his actions say so, but Messi may be more saddened that the Catalans are left empty-handed after this unfortunate saga. He must be wishing that if he were to leave, at least Barcelona should gain badly needed cash that could help them rebuild. Alas, that is not to be.

    And so Messi is off to Paris on a promising new adventure, a reunion with Neymar and a team-up with a sublime talent like Kylian Mbappe so tantalizing for everyone except if you're a Barcelona fan.

    And what of Barcelona? They still have enough talent to be competitive, maybe enough to beat the two Madrid teams for La Liga glory.

    MORE FROM SPIN
    MORE FROM SPIN

      But for the romantic at heart, winning isn't all there is to celebrate in sports.

      Not too long ago, Kobe Bryant, dragging a pair of old legs, dropped 60 points in his farewell NBA game with the Los Angeles Lakers. Yes, the record shows the Lakers won that game, 101-96 over the Utah Jazz - and they needed every basket from Kobe to do it.

      ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW ↓

      The way the crowd roared and stood and applauded, the way sportswriters write about that game now and how people talk about their memory of it five years later, you'd be forgiven if you think it was for the heavyweight championship of the world. No, it was not.

      It was between a last-placed team, the Lakers, and a good Utah Jazz team who were not even going to the playoffs. But that is the beauty of sports: moments of magic even in failure and a happy ending for an iconic figure in the only place he calls home.

      No thanks to an own goal, that is something Barcelona can't experience now with Messi.

      Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph

      Read Next
      Watch Now
      Sorry, no results found for
      PHOTO: AP
    • POLL

      • Quiz

        Quiz Result