Imagine Barcelona without Messi!
Since his debut in 2004, Messi has won 34-trophies with FC Barcelona including 4 UEFA Champions League and became the first Barcelona player ever to win 10 La-liga titles.
Emotional Messi says his goodbye to Barcelona FC
Whenever Messi curls the ball into the net from a free-kick, it is like a painter applying the final flourish on his masterpiece. This was proven against Liverpool in #UCL semi final at the Nou-camp. Messi commands unparalleled respect from everyone in the stadium when his hat-trick against Real Betis was applauded by opposition fans.
In February 2020, he was awarded the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, thus becoming the first footballer and the first team sport athlete to win the award. Later that year, Messi became the second footballer (and second team-sport athlete) to surpass $1 billion in career earnings.
Since Leo Messi became an undisputed starter for Barcelona, in the 2008-2009 season, the side from the Catalan capital have, incredibly, won more games without him in percentage terms (76%) than with him (72%). And the stats favouring a Messi-less Barcelona don’t stop there: Barça without Messi concede fewer goals (one every 122 minutes) than Barcelona with the Argentinean star (one every 109 goals). That said, Barcelona do score more with Messi, notching a goal every 33 minutes, while it takes them 37 minutes to score without him.
Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu says the club’s transfer activity is an indication they are preparing for life after Lionel Messi.
“I know one day Lionel will say he’s retiring,” Bartomeu told the 5 live Football Daily Podcast. Bartomeu said his retirement was “a while away yet. We have to prepare the club for the future, We are bringing great young players to the team because we need to continue this era of success. That’s our responsibility. My mandate will be finished in two seasons. So I need to leave the club in a great position and tell the new president ‘that’s our legacy’.”
“At the moment we cannot imagine it, but we have to prepare for it,” Bartomeu told Marca. “It will be a very different Barcelona, we have to look for young talent.”
Former Sevilla forward Frederic Kanoute conceded that Messi makes the difference.
“Barca are a great team, but obviously they have a player who always makes a difference,” he told Omnisport. “With or without Messi, Barca are two different teams. If someone doesn’t see this, he doesn’t understand football because he (Messi) is a special player. Having a player like that changes the way you play.”
Sometimes ago, Barca have struggled to perform without Messi. This can explode into crisis considering the fact that the void left by Dani Alves, who left in 2016 is still hurting the club in crucial games. Apart from the overrunning costs, the most talented ones find it hard to adapt to the club’s ‘unique’ style of game.
Real Madrid is an example of what happens when the central figure leaves the team. Post Cristiano Ronaldo, Madrid finished with a trophy-less season after winning the 3 consecutively #UCL. With the return of their winning manager, Zinedine Zidane, Madrid struggled to win the Liga without Cristiano Ronaldo.
However, stats have pointed out that previous instances of Messi being injured, suspended or rested have not led to a slump in team form:
Pete Jenson of the Daily Mail has made exactly that claim noting:
“Statistics actually show that the Catalans can cope without their talisman – Barcelona win 71% of games with Messi playing but a surprising 89% when he’s not in the side. The Treble winners also score more and concede fewer goals without Messi on the pitch, while their average points per game rises from 2.3 to 2.7 when arguably the world’s best player is unavailable. Nonetheless, Messi’s loss does add to the pressure on the depth of Barcelona’s squad.”
These surprising statistics would appear to be explained by the fact that Messi tends to rest (when he does) in games where Barcelona are playing far weaker opposition, such as the early rounds of the Copa del Rey. That said, in 2013-14 and 2015-16, when Messi was out for the longest spells due to injury, rather than being deliberately rested, the team performed decently. In the 13-14 he missed 13 games and Barcelona won 11 and lost two. In 15-16 he was also absent for 13 games, with Barcelona winning 10, drawing 2 and losing just one.
What Jenson fails to articulate is that the metrics he used are based on just 36 games without him and 278 with him.
Statistically, 114 goals in 36 games is better than 726 in 268?
Statistics shows that Messi was involved in 57% of the goals that Barcelona scored in the Champions League (12 goals and 3 assists) that season (2015). Also having an average rating of 8.9 and being the player of the week 5 times.
Here is another stats taken from another report that looked at Barcelona’s record with and without Messi since the start of 2017-18, their first season under Valverde.
Ronald Koeman after losing the Liga to Atletico de Madrid last season believed Barcelona will be messy without Messi.
“He is still the best in the world and has also shown today that it is impossible to play without him. He has scored 30 goals in LaLiga and has given us many points in LaLiga. It’s a question for Leo. For my part and the club, let’s hope he stays with us.
“Because if Leo’s not here, we have a doubt who’s going to score the goals.”
MOLATsportgist 