La Liga (Spanish League) Prediction Thread 2023/24

[rdbase]

After almost de-friending my pal after he told me about Messi departure, because of thought it was an expensive rumour.  I just saw the heart breaking news about Messi departure from Barcelona on official Barcelona Instagram page, although still real, I think is a bunch of un-reasonable reason to do away with Messi, after the two parties -Barcelona and Messi- has agreed to keep up the relationship, no Financial restrictions should cut-off Messi from his signing, Messi is not bigger than Barcelona but, I think their are other players Barcelona should have looked at to balance up the spanish La liga structure.

While watching a sportsdesk post game show, I couldn't believe my eyes either when it flashed on the screen below the sportsnews ticker.
But it is true.
Messi is leaving Barcelona.

After doing some searching this would be the appropriate source to post it from, the official FC Barcelona site:
https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/news/2207655/leo-messi-not-staying-at-fc-barcelona

Haven't had the chance to read the news from any of the other sports sites on this breaking news as I just found out about it mere minutes ago myself.
But from the sounds of it, they haven't said which league or football team he will be going too.
So it must of been a last minute decision by both sides. Messi's camp and Barcelona.
So who will be the team's captain now that he definitely won't be returning for the start of the season?

[1714980791]

1714980791

[hd49728]

Well, if it is confirmed that Messi will move, then of course the big clubs in Europe will be willing to change their main squad to bring Messi, right? How not, Messi is still very charming on the field so this struggle will probably happen between City and PSG who still have issues bringing Ronaldo to PSG and Kane to City, if Messi is willing to move then these two teams could turn a corner to get Messi, of course. will leave Barcelona. It will be interesting and I will just wait for further news, and wonder which team Messi will choose in the future because I am sure some other big clubs like Juventus, Chelsea etc will be interested in getting Messi.

I don't think Juventus or Chelsea will have opportunity to get Messi. Additionally, they are not attractive enough to Messi. PSG and Manchester City are best candidates and between them, Manchester City might be more favorite by Messi because they have Pep Guardiola. Messi only have about 4 more seasons to play at best level and he does not want to gamble with a strange coach that he has never worked with.

If Messi joins Manchester City and they can get Kane, they will become the beast in the Europe. De Bruyne, Grealish, Kane, Messi, who can beat them?

[MAAManda]

This news is really surprising to me as well.It was rumoured he wants to leave Barcelona to another club earlier in the transfer window,but after a while we never saw that coming through,still very shocking we are hearing this now.If he moves to a team like Mancity,it will really be good for him.

I would never believe if Messi played for a club other than Barcelona, ​​he wants to stay safe in his comfort zone at the moment.

But after seeing the announcement on Barcelona's official website that Lionel Messi did not renew his contract, I was a little surprised, it was reported that the most likely to get Messi was Paris Saint-Germain.

[dbc23]

Messi has been too comfortable at Barcelona for too long and has been so used to only one pattern of football. I wish he would embrace this transfer window and seek a new club so he can build a new teammate.

[CLS63]

https://www.transfermarkt.com/lionel-messi-will-leave-barcelona-laliga-structures-make-deal-impossible/view/news/390547

I was really surprised to hear that Lionel Messi wouldn't be able to play at Barcelona anymore. Until yesterday, everything seemed fine and Barcelona were getting close to signing Lionel Messi with a 50 percent wage cut. And he accepted even this terms. But still, La Liga structures didn't let them finalize this deal as they didn't have the financial freedom to sign him. It must be shocking news for the club and Messi both. Messi actually wanted to leave the club long time ago but he changed his mind after some time passed. But now, it looks like we are going to see Messi at a different club for the first time ever. And I've started wondering already about which one it is going to be. I've heard only two big clubs being interested in him so far. They've been Manchester City and PSG. I assume one of these clubs will sign him this summer.

Manchester City signed Jack Grealish for £100m. So, I don't know if they still are in a good financial condition to be able to meet all of Messi's demands. I assume that PSG are better financially now.

[logfiles]

https://www.transfermarkt.com/lionel-messi-will-leave-barcelona-laliga-structures-make-deal-impossible/view/news/390547

I was really surprised to hear that Lionel Messi wouldn't be able to play at Barcelona anymore. Until yesterday, everything seemed fine and Barcelona were getting close to signing Lionel Messi with a 50 percent wage cut.

Personally, I wasn't that surprised. I mean, penning down the deal dragged on and on, you could see it coming. If Messi was to stay in the Club, the deal could have been sealed even before he started the Copa América tournament.

It's a little similar to what happened with Ramos and Real Madrid.

[Woodie]

https://www.transfermarkt.com/lionel-messi-will-leave-barcelona-laliga-structures-make-deal-impossible/view/news/390547

I was really surprised to hear that Lionel Messi wouldn't be able to play at Barcelona anymore. Until yesterday, everything seemed fine and Barcelona were getting close to signing Lionel Messi with a 50 percent wage cut.

Personally, I wasn't that surprised. I mean, penning down the deal dragged on and on, you could see it coming. If Messi was to stay in the Club, the deal could have been sealed even before he started the Copa América tournament.

It's a little similar to what happened with Ramos and Real Madrid.

True, Barcelona should not try to play victim here and take the news like it's a surprise when they knew how La Liga runs the show. As much as we could love to see Messi keep playing at Barcelona, these two parties new their fate to come.

What lead to the departure

Under La Liga rules that were introduced in 2013, there is a floating salary cap for all teams which limits player wages and acquisition costs to 70 percent of club revenues.

In order to meet that requirement after a drastic reduction in revenues due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, FC Barcelona entered this summer offseason needing to shed well over $200 million in salaries just to sign Messi. But the limited transfer activity across Europe meant that the Blaugrana were nowhere close to that figure, and on Aug. 5, the club and player came to the realization that the signing could not happen under the circumstances.

The announcement of a massive private equity investment into La Liga and its clubs only the day before was interpreted by many as helping Barcelona balance the season’s player budget in a way that virtually guaranteed the Messi deal materializing. Projections based on La Liga’s revenue-sharing formulas had Barcelona benefiting from a cash infusion of over $300 million, of which 15 percent would be used for player signings.

Readmore https://www.sportingnews.com/us/soccer/news/why-did-lionel-messi-leave-barcelona-explain-what-happened/1dwtnwr31kcox1qki0fueupe64


Without Messi, how are the odds for Barcelona to win the 2021/2022 La Liga looking, are they not suppose to drop to thrid or so....

[cryptofrka]

It was a really bad deal for Barcelona anyway. It is better for them to start fresh than to agree to another 2-3 years of insane wages for a player who is 34 years old - no matter how good or important he is for them.

If Barcelona had money, they would have kept him. But they were potentially risking the future of the club with that deal, so the league actually saved them by not allowing them to make it.

Barcelona hoped to sell some players but that proved to be difficult in current market conditions. I'm also a bit sad about Aguero, he joined only because he wanted to play with Messi.

An end of an era for Barcelona.

[CryptocurencyKing]

Messi has been too comfortable at Barcelona for too long and has been so used to only one pattern of football. I wish he would embrace this transfer window and seek a new club so he can build a new teammate.

On the pattern of football, maybe not one but two and that is him playing as an Argentine national of which he managed to lift a trophy for his nation this season with the Angel Di Maria goal and then on the club side, the Spanish football, not just the Spanish football but the Barcelona football pattern. Its hardly the way to go but, who won't like it, being in a trophy competing team, having your fair share of earnings and being highly reverend in the team.
As much as it is comforting, it comes with an equal measure of work load as well because, all or most of the work on the pitch is being expected to be done by him. He's been doing good by the way but, I think its high time we see Messi's performance in another league to prove himself a versatile player.

[Altryist]

Personally, I wasn't that surprised. I mean, penning down the deal dragged on and on, you could see it coming. If Messi was to stay in the Club, the deal could have been sealed even before he started the Copa América tournament.

It's a little similar to what happened with Ramos and Real Madrid.

It's amazing how things can change in an instant. It is clear that this did not come as a surprise for Barcelona, but if they allowed it, then this is how it should have happened. Of course, without Messi, Barcelona's chances of winning will greatly reduced.

[Raflesia]

Personally, I wasn't that surprised. I mean, penning down the deal dragged on and on, you could see it coming. If Messi was to stay in the Club, the deal could have been sealed even before he started the Copa América tournament.

It's a little similar to what happened with Ramos and Real Madrid.

It's amazing how things can change in an instant. It is clear that this did not come as a surprise for Barcelona, but if they allowed it, then this is how it should have happened. Of course, without Messi, Barcelona's chances of winning will greatly reduced.

Barcelona will start this season without Messi after the deal did not end well and in the end become a free transfer, but indeed on the other hand Barcelona want to save his club with a high salary just for Messi it is certainly a burden but I think starting this season Barcelona can rise again even without Messi and a bit longer because the rival is gone.
In fact, I saw on Twitter that many of his fans said that he regretted the departure of Messi from a club that was from a young age, he had to just leave.

[ILuckyGuyI]

Even if I was hoping to see Messi playing at a different club from now on, I was surprised by this news also. Because there have been many speculations that he would accept a 50% pay cut and sign a new deal with Barcelona again. But it's the opposite we are seeing now. I hope that Messi makes his decision well and goes to a club which would be really the right place to win titles.

This news is really surprising to me as well.It was rumoured he wants to leave Barcelona to another club earlier in the transfer window,but after a while we never saw that coming through,still very shocking we are hearing this now.If he moves to a team like Mancity,it will really be good for him.

Well, if it is confirmed that Messi will move, then of course the big clubs in Europe will be willing to change their main squad to bring Messi, right? How not, Messi is still very charming on the field so this struggle will probably happen between City and PSG who still have issues bringing Ronaldo to PSG and Kane to City, if Messi is willing to move then these two teams could turn a corner to get Messi, of course. will leave Barcelona. It will be interesting and I will just wait for further news, and wonder which team Messi will choose in the future because I am sure some other big clubs like Juventus, Chelsea etc will be interested in getting Messi.

It looks like the next stop for Lionel Messi is going to be PSG. Because Guardiola said today that they were not thinking of signing Messi. If they knew that Messi would leave the team for real, then maybe they wouldn't sign Grealish and they would sign Messi instead. But now, Grealish has the number 10 and Guardiola doesn't think of changing this.

I would really like to see Messi playing at City actually. I think that City are the best fitting team for Messi after Barcelona. Their game plan exactly matches him.

[Roidz]

Personally, I wasn't that surprised. I mean, penning down the deal dragged on and on, you could see it coming. If Messi was to stay in the Club, the deal could have been sealed even before he started the Copa América tournament.

It's a little similar to what happened with Ramos and Real Madrid.

It's amazing how things can change in an instant. It is clear that this did not come as a surprise for Barcelona, but if they allowed it, then this is how it should have happened. Of course, without Messi, Barcelona's chances of winning will greatly reduced.

The question now is what made Messi change his mind so he decided to leave Barcelona? whereas previously messi was reported to have reached a new contract agreement even though with a salary cut of 50% and of course with messi departure would make Barcelona lose their icon so far and of course with the departure of messi the barcelona front line would not  too dangerous next season and to be honest if messi left La Liga will certainly make La Liga lose its prestige as one of the best football leagues in my opinion.

[BITCOIN4X]

~Snip

I am very surprised by the news that Messi has decided not to renew his contract at Barcelona. This is very bad news for the supporters and also for the team itself. Without Messi it looks like Barcelona will only be a team that is not reckoned with like it used to be and Laliga will soon be replaced by other leagues in Europe. Messi's current situation is really bad to hear, however I would still like to see him retire at Barcelona instead of playing for another team next season.

[mv1986]

Personally, I wasn't that surprised. I mean, penning down the deal dragged on and on, you could see it coming. If Messi was to stay in the Club, the deal could have been sealed even before he started the Copa América tournament.

It's a little similar to what happened with Ramos and Real Madrid.

It's amazing how things can change in an instant. It is clear that this did not come as a surprise for Barcelona, but if they allowed it, then this is how it should have happened. Of course, without Messi, Barcelona's chances of winning will greatly reduced.

The question now is what made Messi change his mind so he decided to leave Barcelona? whereas previously messi was reported to have reached a new contract agreement even though with a salary cut of 50% and of course with messi departure would make Barcelona lose their icon so far and of course with the departure of messi the barcelona front line would not  too dangerous next season and to be honest if messi left La Liga will certainly make La Liga lose its prestige as one of the best football leagues in my opinion.

I think what made him change his mind besides the salary cap stuff that is said be the reason, is that he wants more wants to play with a quality team. I can't see that in Barcelona. Even with Agüero they only signed someone who is pretty old and more and more injured. Agüero is obviously not as robust as Suarez who is able to play a whole season without missing a game pretty much. We'll see, but with Mbappe and Neymar + Di Maria I would say that PSG would have strongest offensive in the world. If they all stay healthy most of the games for a whole season, that's going to be a strong trio.

[MusaMohamed]

I am very surprised by the news that Messi has decided not to renew his contract at Barcelona. This is very bad news for the supporters and also for the team itself. Without Messi it looks like Barcelona will only be a team that is not reckoned with like it used to be and Laliga will soon be replaced by other leagues in Europe. Messi's current situation is really bad to hear, however I would still like to see him retire at Barcelona instead of playing for another team next season.

No. It is not because of Messi but it is caused by Barcelona. Laporta said in the press conference that Messi did not challenge or create any difficulty to Barcelona when they discussed withal each other in order to renew a contract for Messi.

Barcelona have a bad balance sheet and can not meet criteria from La Liga if they registered Messi in the team for a new season. Laporta also said that it is unrealistic to hope that La Liga will change their rules just because of Messi.

Additionally, Barcelona planned to sign a two year contract with Messi only, but salary will be paid in 5 years. Even so, they still failed to deal with La Liga.

[snipie]

The question now is what made Messi change his mind so he decided to leave Barcelona?
-snip-

I think what made him change his mind besides the salary cap stuff that is said be the reason, is that he wants more wants to play with a quality team.
-snip-

It is the fault of Barcelona, the previous staff exactly, and Spanish league decision to ensure financial fair play. I read several articles news and didn't find that Messi want to move out from Barca. Besides, cutting his salary with half or more is ridiculous thing to ask for a player in the level of Messi and waiting for other players to reduce their salaries to allow incorporating Messi in the team is very unprofessional.
It is just cumulative faults from ex Barca staff that will take much time to correct.

[MusaMohamed]

It is the fault of Barcelona, the previous staff exactly, and Spanish league decision to ensure financial fair play. I read several articles news and didn't find that Messi want to move out from Barca. Besides, cutting his salary with half or more is ridiculous thing to ask for a player in the level of Messi and waiting for other players to reduce their salaries to allow incorporating Messi in the team is very unprofessional.
It is just cumulative faults from ex Barca staff that will take much time to correct.

With all of facts revealed recently, I did not know how Bartomeu team can sign many big transfers for Barcelona and more ridiculously all of those big transfers are failures.

Those players are one of reasons for the bad balance sheet Barcelona have now. Messi can play without salary after all income he has gotten so far in his career. However, I agree that it is unfair to as Messi sacrificed all things just to stay in Barcelona.

In addition, this bad story means Barcelona will not have good transfers in coming seasons and they will not be competitive in Champions League.

Messi will leave Barcelona, after more than 20 years. I believe nothing can be changed this summer. Finally, a career of a legend in Nou Camp ended.

[ShowOff]

Aguero come, Messi goes. Something really strange happened in Barcelona and La Liga this time around.
Just because his contract has not been extended, Messi is not one of the old players even though he has been in Spain for quite a long time. Messi had to resign himself to the fact that he left Barcelona only because of the salary limit rules of the Laliga authorities. The one that is most likely to see him stay is, the league authorities revise the rules and Messi will have a chance to stay longer.

But I hope he won't stay after this, because without Messi then I think Laliga will be a less attractive league. What else makes Laliga the best Liga if not for the star players of the competing team. I hope Messi goes to Paris or Manchester City this time, Hopefully it's possible for him.

[BIT-BENDER]

Aguero come, Messi goes. Something really strange happened in Barcelona and La Liga this time around.
Just because his contract has not been extended, Messi is not one of the old players even though he has been in Spain for quite a long time. Messi had to resign himself to the fact that he left Barcelona only because of the salary limit rules of the Laliga authorities. The one that is most likely to see him stay is, the league authorities revise the rules and Messi will have a chance to stay longer.

But I hope he won't stay after this, because without Messi then I think Laliga will be a less attractive league. What else makes Laliga the best Liga if not for the star players of the competing team. I hope Messi goes to Paris or Manchester City this time, Hopefully it's possible for him.

I think it's not about Spanish La liga regulations, but between Messi and Barcelona using the regulations to split up, Messi has been in an estranged relationship with Barcelona since the beginning of last season, I think Messi had left Barcelona at heart even with a change of administration Messi favorite president elected still I think he could not bring himself to stay at Barcelona, it would be unceremonious if Messi leaves by forceful buy out, so I think the spanish La liga regulations was the best opportunity for Messi and Barcelona to end it and still keep Messi's dignity.