Former Indian football captain Bhaichung Bhutia, who knows a thing or two about club loyalties and long associations, said Lionel Messi may have lost interest in Barcelona because "there was nothing more for him to achieve at Barca." (More Football News)
Lionel Messi has so far spent 16 years at Barcelona, scoring 634 goals and winning 34 trophies in a brilliant career that made the world's best player six times. Earlier this week, the Argentine told Barcelona officials that he wanted to leave.
In a chat with Outlook on Thursday, Bhutia said the 33-year-old Messi remained one of the hottest properties in world football and will be spoilt for choice as top European clubs will line up to buy him off from Barcelona. Bhutia listed French team Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Premier League giants Manchester City and Liverpool as the three clubs where Messi could find a slot.
Messi is the highest-paid footballer in the world with a gross salary of 8.3 million Euro per month or close to a staggering 100 million Euro per year (approximately 870 Crores INR). But Bhutia says money is not the only reason why Messi may want to leave Barcelona.
"He has achieved everything with Barcelona. This looks like an emotional decision and there is nothing wrong for him to experiment at this stage of his career. It can happen with anyone," Bhutia said.
The clinching factors
Bhutia said the recent defeat against Bayern Munich in the Champions League or not winning La Liga cannot be the only reasons for Messi wanting to quit.
"Reasons can be professional as well as personal. May be the club can't afford him. Salaries can become an issue and commercials do play a role," Bhutia said from personal experience.
Saying it is very difficult to say how many years Messi will be able to play at this level, Bhutia reckons the Argentine will look for a club that has "ambition, commitment and the desire to win big titles." A club with deep pockets would help too.
"PSG will be the best place for him to go. They are ambitious and hungry to win the Champions League and Messi will have a role to play alongside Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. That's the challenge for him," Bhutia said.
Not obvious
Bhutia did not think Messi was a natural fit in Premier League.
"It depends what the club and the manager want. It's not about one player, it's about a team and with the Premier League season not far away, most managers would have planned their rosters," said Bhutia.
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Still, Messi could find a place at Manchester City or Liverpool, felt Bhutia. City have Messi's former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola as manager.
But, Bhutia says Messi will always remain a Barcelona player no matter which club he chooses to play.
"The world will know him as a Barcelona player. The fans may be angry now but once Messi retires, the Barca fans will embrace him again. Even Messi knows where he belongs," said Bhutia, whose association with Kolkata giants East Bengal, is part of Indian football folklore.
