Lionel Messi's future at Barcelona is currently up in the air with the end of his contract looming, and the six-time Ballon d'Or winner's decision could well be influenced by the forming of the European Super League.
Messi is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, having held off on signing a new contract.
The 33-year-old, who tried to leave for Manchester City last summer, has been heavily linked with a move to either the Premier League or Paris Saint-Germain this year.
Recent developments in Spain - including Joan Laporta winning the club's presidential election - have suggested he would be willing to stay at the club.
However, the lure of a move away remains, and the Super League announcement has thrown a spanner in the works due to the implications it has for international football.
UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin has already declared that any player contracted to a team in the new Super League will be prohibited from representing their country at any FIFA event.
For Messi, that means he will be denied one final try at winning the World Cup, as he wouldn't be eligible to play in Qatar in 2022.
PSG, it should be noted, have not signed up to the breakaway league, therefore Messi could join them and still represent Argentina in international competitions.
On the other side of the coin, however, the money generated from the forming of the league and Barca's involvement could be a defining factor.
Barcelona are one of the 12 founder clubs, and reports have suggested they will receive approximately Β£300million a year as a result.
And as Barcelona cannot be relegated from that league, they are guaranteed entry every year.
As Spanish outlet Marca explains, that money could well be used to pay Messi's lucrative wages and entice him into signing a new deal.
Not only could the club now afford to pay him what he is asking for, but they could also fund a sporting project to support him.
Messi and his father are set for showdown talks before long in light of the Super League news.
alimailah
520
Perez to journalists
Anas101messi
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π| Florentino Perez: "The Super League is like the Champions League." ποΈ| Florentino Perez: "If we have more money, it will be better for EVERYONE, because we will be able to sign players from smaller clubs for a lot of money and help them too." π| Florentino Perez: "We have to change something to make this sport more attractive at a global level. That is what we did with Bernabeu.β π | Florentino Perez: "The more competitive games, the more revenue clubs will generate and that is how they will survive this situation. The Super League is the solution." π| Florentino Perez: "Top clubs in Spain and England are coming to conclusions about fixing football. Madrid alone lost β¬400 million this season, nothing was being done about that." π| Florentino Perez: "If you win, you receive β¬120 to 130m from UEFA but with Super League we will earn much MORE." ποΈ| Florentino Perez: "Our players will NOT be banned from the World Cup. I guarantee it. They can be 100% certain of it." ποΈ| Florentino Perez: "Kicking us out from this season's #UCL? Absolutely not. I guarantee it at a 100%." π| Florentino Perez: "Sevilla is one of the clubs that can enter the League. It will not be closed. We believe in what the clubs can offer so they will fight to play in the competition." ποΈ| Florentino Perez: "They (UEFA) believe we're their property and they can do whatever they want with us, and they're wrong." ποΈ| Florentino Perez: "We have NOT invited PSG." ποΈ| Florentino Perez: "It's RIDICULOUS that the UEFA president can allow himself to insult the president of a huge European club. We don't need these type of people in football. Disrespectful and unacceptable." ποΈ| Florentino Perez: "It wasn't difficult to convince Joan Laporta." ποΈ| Florentino Perez: "We've been working on this project for 20 years now. We owe it to all the fans" ποΈ| Florentino Perez: "We have not invited PSG. If Bayern refuses to join it won't cancel, don't worry".
GeoTyn
427
The Goal Difference π±
ZeeshanAwan
337
Barcelona will have to decide now ESP or Messi
RAHUL10Footballfan
232
Messi is the greatest of all time π
Wrist10
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Epl are about to throw in new laws concerning signing players to make it more competitive. According to this proposed project, there would be age caps for players that would be signed by Epl teams. Again for a coach to be accepted he should have at least coached two to three seasons in a top tier team in Europe or perhaps elsewhere. I ask that are all these not strategies of segregation? Is it not an attempt made by the English F.A to make the premier league more competitive? All these is for the F.A to generate huge incomes But the question still stands. In a period where clubs have been ripped off their financial streams as result of playing behind closed doors, you should know that its becoming hard for these big clubs to manage their teams. According to Florentino Perez, Real Madrid alone lost 400 million Euros last year as result of playing behind closed doors. To the founding teams of the ESL , the only way they can sustain their teams in this period is when they have an avenue that can inject funds into these clubs. This is the point where UEFA has failed as they have not provided any financial support that will sustain these clubs in the short term. Remember, that with the exception of a few teams where players have agreed to a wage cut, some continue to pay their players the same amount of monies penned down in their contract even before the Coronavirus struck. So my question is, " How do UEFA expect these clubs to survive as they are still playing behind closed doors?".
Chrislaity
9
Messi is the greatest of all time π
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madridogs have been really quiet these days, especially after realizing its their beloved daddy who's spearheading this whole scheme