Lionel Messi should leave Barcelona after Bayern Munich defeat

Barcelona fans are coming to the terms with the fact Lionel Messi could be leaving the club.

Considering the legendary Argentine has spent his entire senior career at Camp Nou, the thought of him waving goodbye seems almost inconceivable, but the evidence is starting to look foreboding.

Spanish publication COPE once again reiterated on Friday night that they believe Messi will leave when his contract expires in 2021 unless major changes are executed at the club.

Barcelona woes continue

And nothing could have possibly persuaded Messi to persevere in Catalonia less than the club's Champions League exit this week, which came in historically-embarrassing fashion in Lisbon.

Having thrown away 4-1 and 3-1 leads against AS Roma and Liverpool over the last two seasons, you'd be mistaken for thinking that things couldn't get any worse for the Blaugrana in 2019/20.

But those comeback losses were made to look like minor blips when compared to their utterly horrendous 8-2 mauling at the hands of Bayern Munich.

Could Messi leave Barcelona?

Combine that with Real Madrid pipping them to the La Liga title, bowing out early in the Copa del Rey and the February drama with Eric Abidal to see exactly why Messi is reportedly losing faith.

Only time will tell whether Barca can persuade Messi to stay or whether the Argentine will have a change of heart, but it's about time we considered a breaking of ties as a real possibility.

And here at GIVEMESPORT, we've decided to take a look at what Messi leaving Barcelona would mean for the footballing world and why it could actually be a positive move for the superstar.

Why Messi should leave Barcelona

We're not sure the thought of Messi wearing club colours other than Barca's will ever seem normal, but we think there are at least eight reasons why it would be a good thing - check them out below:

1. Messi deserves better

First and foremost, Messi deserves to play for a team that compliments his greatness as opposed to pinning all their hopes on it and 'Messi FC' trending on an almost weekly basis certainly isn't unfounded.

You only need to look at the fact that Barca's second highest scorer in the Champions League since 2016/17 behind Messi is, erm, 'own goal' to get an idea of the club's toxic dependancy.

But Messi also deserves better in terms of the way he's treated away from the pitch and the aforementioned Abidal controversy is the clearest example of the higher-ups letting him down.

I don't believe for one second that a humble and unassuming character like Messi would take issue with Josep Maria Bartomeu and various members of the coaching staff without good justification.

That, and the fact it's basically guaranteed that any club signing Messi would roll out the red carpet for him and go out of their way to treat him better than he was at Barca.

2. Champions League glory is his goal

Messi must wish he never made that infamous speech about the Champions League at Camp Nou in the summer of 2018, but it made his point pretty clear: European glory is what he's after.

And two historic cases of choking combined with an 8-2 massacre makes it pretty clear that Barca aren't the club that are going to place 'Big Ears' in Messi's hands for the first time since 2015.

Sure, it's not as simple as just hopping to a club slightly higher in the betting odds, but at least five clubs offer Messi a better chance of victory than Barca and their cripplingly poor recruitment strategy.

3. He's not getting any younger

Rio Ferdinand made this exact point after the Bayern defeat and to tell you the truth, it's pretty hard to disagree with him when you consider Messi will be 34 years young when his contract expires.

It's clear that Barca's problem are so manifold that a full and gradual rebuild is required for them to return to European and even domestic success, both in terms of the management and playing staff.

So, simply put: why should Messi feel the need to twiddle his thumbs through this process when retirement is closing in?

Frankly, it makes much more sense for Messi to slot in as the final piece in an already almost-complete puzzle elsewhere to ensure he ends his career in the manner it deserves to be completed.

4. It could bolster his legacy

Arguably the biggest and most frequent criticism lodged against Messi in the GOAT debate is the fact he's 'only' proven himself in Spain, whereas Cristiano Ronaldo has transcended top European clubs.

I'm not entirely convinced that it pulls the rug out from underneath Messi's legacy as much as some supporters think, but this could be the perfect opportunity to strengthen his legendary narrative.

Messi leaving Barcelona would be the ideal excuse to silence millions of doubters by proving that his inimitable achievements and skills don't ride on playing in the Catalan capital.

Besides, his strong performances against English and Italian sides in the Champions League suggests he has nothing to fear about taking a trajectory that has paid off so much for Ronaldo.

5. Trophies = Ballon d'Or wins

Ok, so Messi himself is an exception to this rule, winning the most recent Ballon d'Or despite merely winning the La Liga title in 2019, but we can all agree that it's the case more often than not.

The Champions League title in particular seems to be the key to securing France Football's premier accolade and Messi will have one eye on finishing his career with more plaques than Ronaldo.

And with great reason to think that Barca are at least two or three seasons away from winning the European Cup, never mind La Liga, leaving Catalonia makes sense for his aspirations in individual awards.

6. It could actually benefit Barcelona

Yup, we're inclined to think that Barca have become so reliant on Messi during the last two seasons that cutting ties with him might actually be the wake-up call they need to progress.

Having arguably the greatest footballer in history means that some gaping cracks can be papered over and there's good reason to think Messi's brilliance has actually stunted Barca's future plans.

Like we said, Messi isn't getting any younger, so perhaps this is the perfect time for Barca to go back to the drawing board and pen a long-term strategy unaffected by having to factor in a sporting legend.

It would, after all, be the ultimate shedding of skin and arguably the ideal blood-letting with which the plights of players like Luis Suarez and Gerard Pique would suddenly become more apparent.

7. Perfect chance to reinvent his game

This season has been the clearest indication yet that Messi has been transitioning his game into that of a playmaker, surpassing 20 assists in La Liga and 'only' notching up 25 goals.

But perhaps the time is nigh for Messi to complete that evolution and become an unabashed number 10, which is something far more likely to be accommodated by leaving Camp Nou.

It's a move that would lengthen Messi's career and as long as Barca are leaning on their star man, it's hard to see them ever facilitating this change like an employer such as Manchester City would.

I can't be alone in thinking that Messi pulling the strings from deep with Kevin De Bruyne at the Etihad Stadium would be a beautiful thing to behold.

8. We want a Ronaldo link-up so badly

Yeh, ok, sure, we've thrown the realism book out of the window for this one, but just imagine how incredible it would be for football if Ronaldo and Messi finally played in the same team together.

While reports linking Messi to Juventus might be as weak as Barca's defending against Bayern, the mere possibility of it happening makes me want to drive the Argentine away from Camp Nou myself.

We're not sure it makes commercial or financial sense, particularly in the middle of a pandemic, but is it a reason to get behind the possibility of Messi leaving Barca? You're God damn right it is.

GIVEMESPORT's Kobe Tong says

There's a voice in my head that wants footballing loyalty to prevail in this situation and that Messi will, regardless of the club's many faults, decide to play on at Barcelona until his retirement.

But I couldn't tell you with a straight face that Messi taking on a new challenge at this point in his career would do anything other than excite me.

I mean, come on, don't pretend as though the prospect of finding out how Messi would fare in the Premier League or Serie A isn't a downright fascinating proposition.

It's literally been a talking point for football fans for years, so imagine how thrilling it would be for us to finally get the answers after we'd all come to assume that Messi would never leave Spain.

And as thoroughly unlikely as it seems, I'm shamelessly clinging on to the slightest of possibilities that the stars will align and Messi and Ronaldo will share a dressing room for the first time.

Regardless of what Messi is thinking, though, it's clear that next year would be the final opportunity for the 33-year-old to try his hand at another top European club.