Bartomeu Pledges To Step Down If Lionel Messi Agrees To Stay at Barcelona - Sources

28/08/2020 Bartomeu pledges to step down if Lionel Messi agrees to stay at Barcelona - sources
Sources: Barca chief would quit to keep

Messi
20h - Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens
Which club should Messi join? And how

will Barca cope without him?
20h - Bill Connelly
Bartomeu pledges to step down if

Lionel Messi agrees to stay at
Barcelona - sources
https://www.espn.in/football/barcelona/story/4168073/bartomeu-pledges-to-step-down-if-lionel-messi-agrees-to-stay-at-barcelona-sources 1/13
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Thiago Silva joins Chelsea on a free
transfer
Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens 9:04 PM


 Josep Maria Bartomeu is ready to step down from his role as Barcelona
president if Lionel Messi performs a U-turn on his decision to leave the club,
 sources told ESPN.
 However, various sources insist Messi's decision is firm, so they believe

Bartomeu will not need to act out any pledge to quit.
@
- Stream FC Daily on ESPN+
- Lowe: Messi, bad blood and burofax
Messi stunned Barca on Tuesday when he told the club he wanted out. His
decision sparked a wave of criticism toward Bartomeu, with fans gathering at
Camp Nou, calling for him to resign. A vote of no confidence has also been
lodged against him.
TV3 first reported on Thursday that Bartomeu is willing to quit if it will

convince Messi to stay at the club. However, Bartomeu does not want to fast-
track elections, currently scheduled for March, and would instead prefer to
leave the club in the hands of the current board of directors.
The same sources reiterate that Barcelona's stance is that Messi's rights are not
for sale, regardless of the interest from Manchester City and Paris Saint-
Germain. Messi has a contract until 2021 and a €700 million buyout clause.
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ESPN revealed on Wednesday that City are the favourites to land Messi.
Sources explained that City are prepared to offer a deal that could even see him
end his career at partner club New York City FC and would possibly be able to
spend up to €150 million on the transfer.
Messi sent a burofax to the club on Tuesday announcing his intention to leave
this summer. He said he would invoke a clause that would allow him to leave for
free.
The clause he referred to was included in his 2017 contract renewal and allows
him to leave for free at the end of each season. However, he must notify the club
within a certain time limit, which Barca say expired in June.
Messi, the six-time Ballon d'Or winner, has considered leaving Barcelona before
but has never previously taken his desire to leave to the club this far. He is
conscious that at 33 he won't have many more opportunities to add to the four
Champions League titles he has already won, and he has decided he will have a
better chance of more silverware elsewhere after a string of disappointments
with Barca.
The Blaugrana last won the Champions League in 2015 and have since suffered
a string of embarrassing exits. They gave up three-goal first-leg leads against AS
Roma and Liverpool in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and were then thumped 8-
2 by Bayern Munich in Lisbon last week. That has prompted plans for an
overhaul of the squad at Barca that could include parting with Luis Suarez too.
Sources have confirmed to ESPN that Suarez, Messi's best friend at the club,
will be allowed to leave this summer.
Meanwhile, Messi has also grown frustrated with the people in power at
Barcelona, which many interpret to mean Bartomeu. Messi had a public fallout
with former sporting director Eric Abidal earlier this year and criticised the
board for attempting to put pressure on the players when they were negotiating
a wage cut because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Messi's Barcelona exit: Which club

should he join? And how will Barca
cope without him?
Sid Lowe dives into the leading candidates to land Lionel Messi after the Barca star
reportedly expressed his desire to leave. (1:29)
Bill Connelly 9:26 PM

 ESPN Staff Writer

Plot twists are to be expected when transfer rumours are involved, but it
 appears Lionel Messi might actually be leaving Barcelona. It feels like
something both impossible and inevitable, and the emotional shockwaves will
 continue to resonate for a while even if he stays, but how would this actually
work?
@
If Messi leaves, what would Barca be like without him? And while Manchester
City are sucking up all the rumour mill oxygen at the moment, what major clubs
would make the most sense for him to move to?
Let's take a look.
Rebuilding Barca
EDITOR'S PICKS
Messi, bad blood and a burofax: What you need to know about the GOAT's
breakup with Barcelona
Messi told Barcelona he wants to leave, and this is why they should let him go
Barcelona have a ready-made Messi replacement in Coutinho
The emotional aspect of this potential move would be jarring, as Barcelona's last
full season without Messi in the senior squad was 2002-03. (They finished sixth
in La Liga that year; Patrick Kluivert, current Barca academy director, was their
leading scorer.) As former Barca striker Samuel Eto'o told the Argentine media
recently: "Barcelona is Messi and I think if Messi decides to leave, we'll have to
change the name of the club."
Granted, a club name change, and the resulting wave of new shirt sales in
response to it, might be a decent way to generate some short-term cash. But
let's go ahead and assume that even if Messi is gone, a team named FC
Barcelona will take the field in La Liga and the Champions League in the 2020-
21 season; it's fair to assume, then, that team will still be awfully good.
Over the past five seasons, in league and cup competition, Messi missed 41
matches. Let's look at Barcelona's key stats with and without him.
Barcelona, With And Without Lionel Messi (2015-16 Through 2019-20)

WITH WITHOUT
Points per match 2.28 2.10
Goals p/m 2.51 2.49
Goals allowed p/m 0.88 1.02
Set piece goals p/m 0.44 0.12
% shots on target 43.8% 39.4%
Possessions p/m 89.9 96.8
Possession rate 64.5% 66.2%
Pass completion rate 87.6% 87.5%
WITH WITHOUT
Completion rate
81.9% 81.5%
in the attacking third
Passes per possession 7.6 7.0
Passes allowed
9.13 8.20
per defensive action
Possessions begun
8.06 8.80
in attacking third
Duel success rate 53.8% 53.4%
With Messi, Barcelona were clearly one of the best teams in Europe. Averaging
2.28 points per match in a sample that includes both La Liga and Champions
League is, despite the random disappointments, excellent.
Without Messi, they predictably weren't quite as strong, averaging only 2.1
points per match. They were just about as good from a passing and possession
perspective, and they actually became a faster and more active pressing team in
his absence -- probably not a surprise, as he's not exactly Roberto Firmino in
the pressure department, especially at age 33. But without arguably the best
finisher on the planet, they were far more mortal when it came to shots hitting
their targets and set pieces landing in the back of the net.
Of course, when they were playing without him, it was on a short-term basis as
a system designed for him was asked to do something slightly different for a few
matches at a time. Now, if he's gone for good, Barcelona will have a chance to
build a new system altogether. And despite recent money issues, it's not like the
cupboard is bare.
-- Lowe: What you need to know about Messi's breakup with Barca
-- Hunter: Messi wants to go, and Barca should let him
-- Robson: Messi to Man City would fit 'perfectly' | Social reax
-- From Brady to Messi: A year of big sporting breakups
Barcelona's talent acquisition philosophy in recent years has been, to put it

diplomatically, a bit unfocused.
The club managed to add some of the best young players in the game, bringing
in Borussia Dortmund's Ousmane Dembele in 2017 and Ajax's Frenkie de Jong
in 2019. But they also made some panicky, "We need a big name right now!"
moves, spending upward of €250 million on Philippe Coutinho and Antoine
Griezmann even though neither seemed a great stylistic fit with Messi.
When younger players like Dembele and Samuel Umtiti got hit with a string of
injuries and other additions failed to work out, Barca kept having to rely on
older players like midfielders Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal and Sergio Busquets, as
well as defender Gerard Pique, as they crept past their respective sell-by dates.
Meanwhile, Coutinho was such an iffy fit that he ended up loaned out to Bayern,
where he scored two goals and an assist against Barcelona in that 8-2
Champions League quarterfinal romp.
(Plus, since Bayern won the Champions League, Barca had to pay extra money
to Liverpool as part of his transfer arrangement, which was almost too
symbolic.)
1:58
Lowe: Koeman will almost certainly be gone in a year Sid Lowe gives his take on
reports Ronald Koeman will be appointed as Barcelona's next manager
With the hiring of former Barca star Ronald Koeman as manager, it is a pretty
good time to start building for the future even if Messi remains on board. And
there's still quite a bit of talent on hand even if basically everyone over 31 is cut
loose. Busquets, Pique and 33-year old forward Luis Suarez in particular still
have quite a bit to offer when healthy, even if it would be best not to have to rely
on them at this point. Plus, you could make a genuine case that Griezmann and
Coutinho are now potentially elite fits in a Messi-less Barca attack.
At Southampton, Everton and most recently with Netherlands' national team,

Koeman lined his team up in a 4-2-3-1 about half the time and a 4-3-3 about a
quarter of the time. (The other quarter was a true "Spin the Formation Wheel!"
type of experience, producing anything from a 3-4-1-2 to a 5-4-1.)
Using that as our guide, it's not hard to craft a formidable lineup even if Barca
made no further additions.
• Goalkeeper: Marc-Andre ter Stegen (somehow still only 28)

• Defense: De Jong (23) and Umtiti (26) at centre-back, Jordi Alba (31) and
either Sergi Roberto (28) or Nelson Semedo (26) at full-back
• Midfield: Miralem Pjanic (30) and either Riqui Puig (21), Rafinha (27),
Busquets (32) or Carles Alena (22)
• Attacking midfield: Dembele (23) and Ansu Fati (17) on the wings,
Coutinho (28) in the middle
• Centre-forward: Griezmann (29)
That's far from barren, especially if the injury bug is kinder to Dembele and
Umtiti this year. You'd like to see better options at full-back -- at least until
Bayern's Alphonso Davies returns Semedo's soul, which he stole during the
second half of Bayern's 8-2 win -- and I am a firm believer that Koeman would
be well-served to move de Jong back to central defense, where he was an almost
Franz Beckenbauer-esque star for Ajax, instead of central midfield, where he's
very good but his skill set doesn't stand out as much.
If Koeman keeps de Jong in midfield, then that makes Busquets and Puig
interesting midfield backups with Clement Lenglet (25), Pique and perhaps
Ronald Araujo (21) to do more work in central defense, especially if or when
Umtiti is hurt.
Either way, that's a fun mix of young talent and proven veterans, and without
Messi, both Coutinho and Griezmann get to play something closer to the roles
that earned them the big money transfers in the first place.
STREAM ESPN FC TV ON ESPN+
Dan Thomas is joined by Craig Burley, Shaka Hislop and a host of other guests every day as football plots
a path through the coronavirus crisis. Stream on ESPN+ (U.S. only).
A 4-3-3, with Rafinha or Alena maybe getting involved in the wide midfield and
Coutinho lining up wide left, doesn't work quite as well, but there remains star
talent at each level of the lineup (especially if de Jong moves back a row.)
Hiring Koeman was both uninspiring and logical. He thrived constantly in the
Eredivisie -- he won titles with Ajax (2002, 2004) and PSV Eindhoven (2007)
and piloted Feyenoord to three top-three finishes in as many seasons -- and his
track record elsewhere is mixed: decent with Benfica, bad with Valencia,
excellent with Southampton (the Saints finished three points out of a
Champions League spot in 2016), OK with Everton and rock solid with
Netherlands.
Koeman was part of Barcelona's early-1990s Dream Team, played for the
legendary Johan Cruyff, played and coached for Guus Hiddink and spent a
couple of years as Barcelona assistant early in his coaching career. Teams often
put far too much value on "He knows what it takes to win here," ignoring "He is
far too inexperienced" and "He doesn't know how to actually build that type of
culture himself," but Koeman does have plenty of success on his CV, and both
the formations and possession style he prefers will work if he gets players' buy-
in. (You never know if that will happen until it does.)
1:07
Ogden: Signing Messi doesn't guarantee success for Man City Mark Ogden
explains why a deal for Lionel Messi might not be wise for Manchester City or PSG.
What about Messi?

In the initial hours after Messi's transfer

request, Manchester City shot to the front
of the queue, with sources telling ESPN
that they would offer him three years at
the Etihad, followed by a stint with the
MLS' New York City FC (where he would
presumably score 114 goals a season at
age 37).
It will take a while for Messi to come to a

decision, so while we wait to see which
way the wind blows next, let's talk about
what would actually make the most sense for him.
Let's start with the assumption that he wants to have a shot at winning the
Champions League this coming year. If he didn't, he could just stay at Barca,
right? So let's say that the field of teams most likely to land the greatest player
of all time starts with the teams from Europe's Big Five leagues that will play in
the UCL this fall:
- Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich,

Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Real Madrid,
Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Juventus, Inter Milan, Atalanta, Lazio, Paris Saint-
Germain, Olympique Marseille, Rennes.
- Inside Barcelona's historic week

- Marcotti: Messi's rise to GOAT status
- Kuper: Players control Barca, not managers
We can't completely rule out a club like AC Milan making an absurd financial
offer, but it wouldn't pay off for at least a year.
Now let's eliminate teams without elite levels of revenue (we'll keep RB Leipzig
on the list because of Red Bull), plus all the Spanish teams on the list. Marseille
or Lazio could attempt a bold gesture, sure, and the thought of Messi in a Real
Madrid jersey is as hilarious as it is disorienting, but off they go. That leaves:
- Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern, BVB, RB

Leipzig, Juventus, Inter Milan, PSG.
Of these 10 teams, let's rank them according to both likelihood and fit. (For this
exercise, we're going to assume that the reported €700m release clause is either
knocked down severely or eliminated. With that clause in place, this becomes
basically a two-team list: City and PSG.)
The Reds built a Champions League and Premier League winner by acquiring
soon-to-peak talent, often in cost-effective fashion. While their interest in
Bayern midfielder Thiago proves that they aren't averse to looking at veteran
acquisitions, this one goes against type, too. Plus, they probably need
midfielders more than attackers at the moment (even if you obviously make an
exception for such a talent as Messi).
6. Bayern
The case for: they already have a shrine for him in the team museum.
Bayern Munich have their own shrine to Lionel Messi 👀

pic.twitter.com/TU6AEovB44
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) August 26, 2020
The case against: they just won the Champions League without Messi and have
already added Leroy Sane to go with Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry, etc., at
winger, where Messi tends to line up. This would be a fascinating experiment,
but we'll call it unlikely.
5. Juventus
Under normal circumstances -- i.e. a time when a global pandemic didn't

severely curtail your cash flow (and you didn't already have quite a few older
players with forbidding contracts to get rid of) -- one could assume Juve would
very much be in the market for a Messi. They acquired Cristiano Ronaldo just
two years ago, after all. But as morbidly fascinating as a Ronaldo-Messi duo
would be, it's hard to see Juve putting together the required offer here. Maybe
we should start a GoFundMe to help make this happen?
1:33
Laurens: Messi to PSG is written in the stars Julien Laurens explains why he's
excited about Lionel Messi joining Kylian Mbappe and Neymar at PSG.
4. PSG
Like Liverpool, PSG should probably spend its next few hundred million Euros
in talent acquisition looking elsewhere, like in the midfield or at full-back. They
already have Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Angel Di Maria in attack. But the
team that yanked the rug out from under Barca's feet a few years ago, triggering
Neymar's €222m release clause and leaving Barca ill-equipped to make a
Champions League challenge without him, probably wouldn't mind attempting
Where will Lionel Messi

play if he leaves
Barcelona?
1/2
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+
10 and 9. RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund
Leipzig certainly has the money to make a big offer, and Dortmund could sell
Jadon Sancho for around €120m to make some quick cash. But, to say the least,
an acquisition like this would go against type for these two clubs, which invest
heavily in youth and development. Probably not going to happen.
8. Chelsea
I mean, look, just because owner Roman Abramovich has already signed checks
to acquire seemingly every young attacker in Europe -- RB Leipzig's Timo
Werner, Ajax's Hakim Ziyech, and apparently Bayer Leverkusen's Kai Havertz
any day now -- doesn't mean he won't spend even more money given the
opportunity. But unless Chelsea's planning on fielding two teams this fall, or
goes to a 2-3-5 formation, let's rule them out.
7. Liverpool
to further kneecap the Blaugranes. Shoot first, ask questions like "how do we fit
these guys onto the same field?" later.
3. Inter Milan
There was a time when you could count on an Italian squad to make a big
spending gesture for the sport's biggest stars -- Diego Maradona to Napoli (from
Barca, no less) in 1984, Ronaldo to Inter (again, from Barca) in 1997, etc. But as
the spending has gotten bigger through the years, it's been a while since a Serie
A team other than Juve made such a move.
Inter are in an interesting position, however. It's been 10 years since they won
the Champions League, but they were one of the best teams in Europe at the
end of the season and have a core of players like Romelu Lukaku and Marcelo
Brozovic who are entering their prime. They might not be able to hold onto 23-
year-old goal scorer Lautaro Martinez, but selling him (possibly to Barca) would
free up money for a major win-now move. Or maybe the major win-now move.
2. Manchester United
I was almost surprised that City were the team dominating the headlines in the
wake of Messi's transfer request. I'd have guessed it would be City's Manchester
rivals. United fans have dreamed of making this exact move for, what, 15 years
now? Not only that, but Messi would fit well with an attack that features catalyst
Bruno Fernandes, striker Anthony Martial and wingers Marcus Rashford and
Mason Greenwood.
United don't press much (which suits Messi), and their attack basically amounts
to "hope someone super talented does something great." The addition of
Fernandes worked wonders in that regard, but it goes without saying that Messi
cutting in from the right with Fernandes and Martial nearby would be
captivating.
1. Manchester City
City's owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group, could write a €700m check to pay
Messi's monstrous release clause in a heartbeat, but Financial Fair Play rules
wouldn't allow it. However, sources told ESPN that City would be prepared to
spend around €100m-€150m if he can't leave for free, which sets them apart.
And one has to figure that a Messi-Pep Guardiola reunion would be welcomed
by both parties.
Guardiola hasn't won the Champions League since leaving the Barcelona bench,
and Messi has done so only once since Pep departed. They are an aesthetic
match, and with speedy ball recovery experts like Raheem Sterling, Riyad
Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus presumably still filling spots in the lineup up front,
Messi wouldn't have to play a massive role in ball pressure. I actually like the fit
with United more, but City's guaranteed willingness to spend makes them the
favorites at the moment.

Bartomeu Pledges To Step Down If Lionel Messi Agrees To Stay at Barcelona - Sources

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28/08/2020 Bartomeu pledges to step down if Lionel Messi agrees to stay at Barcelona - sources

Sources: Barca chief would quit to keep

Which club should Messi join? And how

Bartomeu pledges to step down if

Sam Marsden and Moises Llorens 9:04 PM

 However, various sources insist Messi's decision is firm, so they believe

TV3 first reported on Thursday that Bartomeu is willing to quit if it will

TOP FOOTBALL NEWS

• Sources: Barca chief would quit for Messi

 Share with Facebook  Share with Twitter

Messi's Barcelona exit: Which club

 Share with Facebook  Share with Twitter

Bill Connelly 9:26 PM

Let's take a look.

Barcelona have a ready-made Messi replacement in Coutinho

Barcelona, With And Without Lionel Messi (2015-16 Through 2019-20)

Points per match 2.28 2.10

Goals p/m 2.51 2.49

Goals allowed p/m 0.88 1.02

Set piece goals p/m 0.44 0.12

% shots on target 43.8% 39.4%

Possessions p/m 89.9 96.8

Possession rate 64.5% 66.2%

Pass completion rate 87.6% 87.5%

Barcelona's talent acquisition philosophy in recent years has been, to put it

At Southampton, Everton and most recently with Netherlands' national team,

• Goalkeeper: Marc-Andre ter Stegen (somehow still only 28)

STREAM ESPN FC TV ON ESPN+

What about Messi?

In the initial hours after Messi's transfer

It will take a while for Messi to come to a

- Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich,

- Inside Barcelona's historic week

- Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern, BVB, RB

Bayern Munich have their own shrine to Lionel Messi 👀

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) August 26, 2020

Under normal circumstances -- i.e. a time when a global pandemic didn't

Where will Lionel Messi

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