WHY AGUERO & MESSI DON’T NEED BARCELONA

One has 257 goals for his current club while the other has 659 goals for his current team. I am very sure that you don’t need me to state which is which. Regardless, both players are the all-time goal scorers for their teams and are internationally renowned. Both have played in several international tournaments and represented Argentina with distinctions. If sunlight should hit their trophy cabinets, you would need sunglasses to take a look. Sergio Aguero and Lionel Messi are legends of the game without question.

But then in recent weeks, talk has been building about both of them being at the same club; new FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta hoping to persuade Messi to stay with his contract up this summer and also bidding to lure his good friend Aguero to the Nou Camp to join him. In fact, reports suggest that signing Aguero could be the key to keeping Messi at Barcelona. I’d like to think that both players have mutual friends. If I was any of them, I would ask both guys: Do You Really Need To Be At That Club? The answer, for me, is No.

There is literally nothing left for Messi to win in Barcelona. He has won EVERYTHING on offer there. Name the competition and it’s just a case of how many times he’s won it. Its similar for Aguero. He would probably argue that the UEFA Champions League remains a key missing component on his CV but I’m not sure he needs it to be a great player. He will also point to the FIFA Ballon D’Or as another missing accolade but then a lot of great players lost out due to the superhuman Messi-Ronaldo battle that lasted for over a decade. No shame there.

At the moment, FC Barcelona are a team in transition. Koeman, upon arriving at the club, made it clear that the team needed a fresh start…and why not? After 2016, I’m not sure what the transfer strategy was at Barcelona. Either a big name player was signed for the sake of it (Vidal, Turan) or an overhyped prospect was signed with the hope that he might become a star (Dembele). Then you have South American imports that never make it in the first team (Malcom). It’s going to take at least another transfer window to sort this out to a reasonable level. Messi is closing in on 35 years. By the time Koeman is done restructuring the team, he will be booted out without any ceremony. Why wait when that’s going to happen? If Aguero joins him at the club, then BOTH of them will be thrown out in ruthless fashion. Look at what happened to Luis Suarez.

When Ronaldo left Real Madrid to join Juventus and Zlatan Ibrahimovic left LA Galaxy to come back to AC Milan, both players stated ‘an ambition to keep competing at the top’ as a reason for those moves. Today, Juventus are no closer to winning the Champions League with Ronaldo reportedly becoming dissatisfied at the club. By the time AC Milan becomes capable of winning the Serie A, Ibrahimovic will NOT be there. Messi and Aguero don’t need that stress.

What should they be looking at then? A move to PSG where you might win different trophies looks good but even that is not guaranteed. Fly to the Middle-East or China where the money is good? They already have money but then they would be totally out of football consciousness. Plus, the level of football is not that great. But the MLS? Argentine Primera Division? Both leagues are close to home, pay well, have great football on show, and both players have the chance to become legends at home by returning to their boyhood clubs (should they choose to head back to Argentina). Imagine a game between Independiente and Newell Old Boys, with Aguero and Messi playing for the respective teams. For me, that is where they ought to head to…as they look to close out their careers in the future.

Later.