You want Messi to stay at Barca? Then you must sell four players

Barcelona wants to keep their best player and captain Lionel Messi, and that’s old news. There are two obstacles to that wish: the player himself and the money required to do so. Everybody knows that Barcelona are in serious debt and Messi’s last contract wasn’t a cheap one, and the new one won’t be either. There is also a possibility that the player himself want’s to leave, no matter what. In that case, there will be no need to spend the money. But in case the Argentinian decides to stay in the club, money must be raised, in the middle of the worst financial crisis for Barcelona, to support Messi’s new contract.

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The solution? Sell, sell, sell. That is, by the way, the same solution for the financial problems in Barcelona. Sell and bring as many free agents as possible (Alaba, Aguero, Depay, Wijnaldum). And how many players will have to be sold just to cover Messi’s stay? According to OKDiairo, the captain is worth four players. As everybody knows by now, Philippe Coutinho is the first on the list. It’s one of the biggest busts in the history of the club, considering the money spend, injuries, and times spent on the football field. The Brasilian was bought from Liverpool in 2018 for an unbelievable 145 million euros and played in only 90 games in all competitions since (23 goals, 14 assists). He has spent a year in Bayern Munich and played only 38 games. He is (again) injured and his current value is only 40 million, via Transfermarkt. Will anybody pay even 40 million for him now?

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Antoine Griezmann is the second one. The Frenchman was much better than Coutinho, but still nowhere near the time, he was in Atletico Madrid, who sold him to Barca for a staggering 120 million euros. For that kind of money, he should have played like Lewandowski at least, but he was way too inconsistent for that kind of money. He will be sold for a lot less, but still more than Coutinho. His current market value is 60 million and maybe Atletico will buy him back if they sell some of their players.

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The next two players are „small fish“ compared to the first two, but in their financial difficult times, maybe they will be sold quicker. One is Samuel Umtiti, other is Francisco Trincao. The French international was bought from Lyon for 25 million in 2016, and with inconsistent displays and a number of injuries, he is now worth only 10 million. A perspective and young Trincao (21) is still worth a lot of money, and he still hasn’t reached his prime, so selling the Portuguisian for a decent amount (was bought for 31 million) is not such a big task.

After these players are sold and after Messi agrees to sign a new contract for a smaller amount (did we mentioned that it also must be done?), then and only then the new president Joan Laporta will be able to say he accomplished one of his biggest surprises – to keep the captain in the club forever.