Never go back: Re-signing Messi would be Barcelona’s big mistake

Last week, Barcelona vice-president Rafael Yuste spoke to the press and listed all the reasons why Lionel Messi is important to Barcelona. He mentioned the bond with the fans, the economic impact and, of course, the sporting benefits of Messi’s 20-year stay at the club.

He then announced that Barca were working with Messi’s agent to try to bring the legend back to the club he left almost two years ago.

It’s hard not to be romantic, Messi and Barcelona are forever linked. They’ve been the perfect match for so long. Their relationship has blossomed over the years, growing into this beautiful, seemingly unbreakable bond.

Then, in 2021, there was a shocking divorce that literally left Messi in tears.

He was the legend of the club who led it to unprecedented success. There were other stars in the various versions of Barcelona he played for, but Messi was unbeatable, consistent for almost 15 years, showing results at every stage.

A return to this club is too tempting to pass up. Messi may want it – he may even need it. However, Barcelona should avoid this at all costs. She needs to move on.

The watershed moment for many of the world’s best teams over the past 18 months has been the abandonment of a fading star in favor of a collective project.

Arsenal did it with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure from Manchester United has given the Red Devils hope for a successful future. Even Ronaldo’s previous departure from Real Madrid helped usher in a new era.

Messi is a different player. But the same principle applies here. After a lackluster last year, this season under Xavi has a vibrant new Barcelona and there are good signs the new project is starting to gain momentum.

The return of the 36-year-old admittedly fading Messi would be a perversion of what makes this Barcelona so good. This will stop the winning team, which is likely to reclaim Spanish league gold.

Barcelona struggled with their identity for a year after losing Messi. His departure marked the end of several club personalities. This pushed manager Ronald Koeman out and alienated Antoine Griezmann.

It also led to the collapse of Josep Bartomeu’s presidency and a massive financial crisis. In fact, it was a step towards exposing all the flaws of an imperfect organization.

And Barcelona also made it difficult for themselves. The Catalans have signed a number of flawed players in Aubameyang, Memphis Depay and Ferran Torres. They handed mediocre player Luc de Jong to lead the attacking line and Xavi was nearly fired after being knocked out of the Europa League.

But now, almost two years later, Barça is better. Those bad buys are a thing of the past, while a new wave of shrewd newcomers, coupled with young talent, propelled the Blue Garnets to the top of La Liga.

This team should be every football fan’s dream. Barcelona are young, hardworking and constantly improving. He has world-class players in many positions, but a true megastar like Messi is gone. Despite this, Barcelona win.

And it is this lack of ego that has brought Barca this far. The club’s best players willingly took on unknown roles and sacrificed their personal interests for the greater good. Jules Kundet, a promising central defender, moved to the right flank of the defense, despite the fact that he clearly did not like this position.

Pedri and Gavi have occupied many different positions in midfield despite being the perfect box-to-box duo. Even Ousmane Dembele, who has found form on the right flank, has moved to the left to make way for Rafinha, who has a strong leg.

And this despite star midfielder Frenkie de Jong was set to be sold last summer. Just 12 months ago, Dembele was considered a transfer failure. Even Pedri and Gavi have faced their fair share of criticism.

Barca have been trying hard to move on without the club legend, so why return?

Of course, Messi has something to offer the club. He showed at the World Cup that he can still lead a team in which he is central. He’s the greatest player of all time – a string of unsuccessful performances at PSG doesn’t take away from that.

Barcelona certainly lack creativity in the final third and Messi knows a thing or two about creating a moment of magic. But the last thing Barca need right now is a player who will draw attention to themselves.

Messi is not selfish like some other superstars. He doesn’t have the ball all the time and he doesn’t need to score all the goals. But it still needs to be fixed. He does not play the positions, he floats between them. In Argentina, he played on the right flank. At PSG, he has a free interpretation of the center forward.

Messi takes places, but not those usually associated with an attacking structure.

That’s a problem as Barcelona reportedly want Messi in Xavi’s signature midfielder.

Xavi first hacked the system in January, putting Gavi, Pedri, De Jong and Sergio Busquets in the same team. What seemed clumsy turned out to be a tactical masterstroke. The Catalans beat Real Madrid in their first competition using this system and have lost just once since then.

This build has the perfect balance. Gavi and Pedri run and create, De Jong catches and breaks lines, and Busquets patrols the defensive third and wins duels.

And now one of these four will have to be sacrificed. This precious balance will disappear. And who to delete? Busquets would be more likely to stay in the squad if Messi arrives, while neither Pedri, Gavi nor De Jong will be in a rush to give up their seats.

Xavi has shown himself to be a smart tactician and he will no doubt have a plan in case Messi arrives at Camp Nou. But the manager spent 18 months trying to fix everything. Now he might have to destroy everything.

There are, of course, financial issues to consider. Messi’s return is based on the assumption that Barcelona inexplicably overcome a series of financial hurdles. Under fire, La Liga president Javier Tebas has, after all, said well in advance that Barca won’t be able to complete any transfers this summer.

It looks like Barcelona will either have to get more sponsors or get rid of some players to even consider signing new arrivals.

And even if they manage to sign new players, Messi shouldn’t be Barcelona’s priority. Xavi needs a defensive midfielder to replace Busquets. He also probably needs cover as a full-back and even as a backup centre-forward for Robert Lewandowski.

Moreover, Barcelona are yet to officially sign Ronald Araujo and Gavi after their contract renewals. The summer promises to be busy.

If Xavi has the cash on hand, then Messi isn’t the player Barcelona need.

Years later, the Argentine will not be remembered for the 2022 Ligue 1 title, the last-minute free-kick against Lille or the friendly against Riyadh.

Instead, he will go down in footballing lore with his World Cup medal and 672 goals for Barcelona. Fans remember his hat-trick against Real Madrid in their first El Clasico, or remember how the Argentine got into shape on the rafters at the Santiago Bernabéu after scoring a late goal to beat Creamy . There are so many iconic moments, jaw-dropping goals and mind-blowing records. And Messi can no longer improve on his past achievements. This Messi is still a very good player. But he is no longer the same as two years ago.

His legacy at Barcelona must remain pure, untouched by the occasional displays of humanity that may come from the return of an aging alien footballer.

Barcelona can look at old photos. The Catalans can reflect on wonderful times together. But they don’t need to call Lionel Messi again. This love, as beautiful as it is, is best left in the past.