Remember the date, August 5, 2021, and the time, 6.51pm. It is no exaggeration to claim that no one who loves football will ever forget it. What happened at that point felt so seismic, strange, sad and wrong. It was one of those jaw- dropping moments, one of those events in history when you will always remember where you were when the administration at Nou Camp tweeted the statement headlined: “Leo #Messi will not continue with Barcelona.”
In the modern way, they even hashtagged Messi in this trending, heart-rending news. This is more than a club story, this is global. Visitors thought the Sagrada Família would be finished in Barcelona before Messi. For those admiring this great conurbation’s myriad attractions, the immediate reaction was to try somehow to imagine the impossible: the Nou Camp without Messi, the city of Antoni Gaudí, Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró without this footballing artist in residence, as he has been since October 16, 2004 when he came on in the 82nd minute against Espanyol. Art followed Deco. The headlines wrote themselves.
And the headlines have been written by Messi ever since. He has been more than a player for the self-styled “more than a club”. He has been talisman, beacon, merchandising magnet, symbol and saviour. Good luck to whoever dares take that No 10 shirt that fitted Messi like skin.
That statement must have stirred anger as well as heartache among not only Barcelona fans, those who worship weekly at the shrine of the little Argentinian with the immense skill, but to football lovers around the world. Every home game pre-pandemic had English families flying in, getting tickets, spending £80 on a Messi shirt at the club shop, then heading into the ground to see Messi more than Barcelona. He is more than a player.
Messi is the type of footballing maestro who turns his peers into fans. Michael Carrick played for Manchester United against Messi in two Champions League finals and heard all the advice of critics saying: “Show him on to his right foot,” but Messi was still dangerous, and simply getting close to him was near-impossible in the first place. Tackling Messi was like tracking a firefly. Carrick analysed Messi at length in advance of those 2009 and 2011 finals but when it came to it, Messi turned quicker than any attempted marker, and was gone. His control in tight spaces remains.
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In that first final against United, in Rome, Messi demonstrated again his versatility and team-minded nature, switching with Samuel Eto’o, operating as false No 9 and deceiving Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand. There is a moment in the first half where Messi dribbles forward and Carrick, Wayne Rooney and Vidic are outfoxed and left behind. Yet even two years later, in the Wembley final, United knew Messi would work as a No 9, dropping off with David Villa and Pedro pushing high and wide. Messi’s movement was so clever that Vidic tore into Carrick at half-time, demanding more protection. Messi found space again and scored. Sometimes, it is impossible to stifle genius.
United players discussed Messi frequently during that period when their clubs duelled for European glory, and they almost accepted ruefully that whatever tactics you use against Messi, he can handle it. Kick him, and he bounces back. Crowd him in a gang of ambushers, and he simply spins away then releases a team-mate in space. Show Messi wide, and he stretches you, then turns inside and opens you up. Try to man-mark him, and that low centre of gravity lets him escape with two steps while an opponent takes his first step. Messi is a mix of mercury and majesty.
Those who have tried to go up against him confide painfully that Messi doesn’t do tricks for show, he simply executes that phenomenal technique for the good of the team. Carrick, one of the most thoughtful of English footballers in the Messi era, always felt that while he saw a blur of movement in a high-level, high-speed game, Messi enjoyed a pin-sharp picture. His vision was clearer, quicker. This special talent operated in HD while others were still switching from analogue.
So this is what Barcelona are losing. Seriously? After all he has done, not least the ten Spanish titles and four Champions Leagues? This is not about past glories. This is about Messi, who is still Barcelona’s most important player, who will doubtless be on Paris Saint-Germain’s quivering radar. At 34, Messi still menaces. He still matters.
And this statement arrives after the year Messi has enjoyed? Is still enjoying, with the 31 goals in 36 appearances in 2021, including the Copa America? After every reminder that he is still a force, perhaps lacking the snap of acceleration of old, but still full of wiles and ways of defeating opponents, still sending markers the wrong way, still changing games, and still shaping up for the individual honours?
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Everyone talks about that enduring wand of a left foot, and the range of goals, the free kicks, the strikes, the one-twos with team-mates and effortless finishes past a goalkeeper, and that foot retains its potency. But Messi is strong and stubborn and determined to challenge for every ball into the box. He is as tough as he is talented. Still.
The hope is that this is simple brinkmanship, either between Barcelona and Messi or by La Liga wanting to persuade the Nou Camp to drop the destructive, shameful European Super League alliance with Real Madrid and Juventus in return for lifting restrictions on them. It seems an affront to football that Messi should end his glittering career away from his natural habitat, Barcelona.
