2019 - 2020 Football Thread - Page 249

On September 05 2020 08:22 Malinor wrote:
If he wanted to go that badly, it is really curious to me why he didn't use his contract clause to leave before the 10th of June. Especially if he isn't satisfied with how the club is run. Seems like a very naive oversight.

On September 05 2020 11:51 Dante08 wrote:


Contract states end of the season. In case you didn't notice covid-19 caused the season the be delayed.

On September 05 2020 14:20 mahrgell wrote:
Iirc Barcelona also disputed the clause that Messi could leave for free at all to play at another club.
In the statements I saw it was always "He could have left for free but then wouldn't be allowed to play"
So basically a retirement clause, not a leave for free clause.

On September 05 2020 15:56 Malinor wrote:


I thought it stated he needs to use the clause at a specific date, not „end of the Season“. His interview sounds like that, too.
But since we do not know the contract verbatim, it probably is as always with contracts, more complicated than that.



That would make sense to me, only I probably would not sign such a contract... Football really is a strange business

On September 05 2020 15:56 Malinor wrote:


I thought it stated he needs to use the clause at a specific date, not „end of the Season“. His interview sounds like that, too.
But since we do not know the contract verbatim, it probably is as always with contracts, more complicated than that.



That would make sense to me, only I probably would not sign such a contract... Football really is a strange business

On September 05 2020 21:04 Dante08 wrote:


From what I read the contract stated it was the end of season. But even if it was stated as June, logically speaking the timeline would need to be pushed back due to Covid. Obviously Messi couldn't have left when they were still competing for La Liga and CL, that would reflect terribly on him.

On September 05 2020 21:14 Wombat_NornIron wrote:

The contract was tied to dates specifically and not to a more general ‘end of the season’ to my knowledge.

Most contracts were, not just with players but with things like broadcasting rights, which made Covid tricky to negotiate. Hence you can have Timo Werner just sit out Leipzig’s latter games in the Champions League.

Common sense would dictate that Messi couldn’t exercise the clause when Barca were still involved in the Champions League for obvious reasons, but legally for it to be valid he probably had to.

My guess is Messi sought quite a lot of legal advice on challenging the validity of the clause in the instance of a stretched out season and an atypical pandemic, and to seek wriggle room in the ‘spirit of the law’ and got advice that he’d probably lose that legal battle.

On September 05 2020 21:51 Rebs wrote:


Probably more of a case of everyone loses if it goes to a legal battle. So take the high road.

There was no celebration, just a kind of weariness. From Messi, there was a blunt honesty, a refusal to gloss over this or act like everything was OK, their differences resolved. He could have backed down, could have said he had felt conflicted, could have asked to draw a line under this whole sorry saga or tried to build bridges, but he did not. He could have said it was a moment’s madness. He did not do that either.

He admitted he wanted to go and accused Bartomeu of reneging on an agreement to let him. He said he had been telling Bartomeu all year, that he had thought about it carefully and that his time was up; it was for others to take over now. He could even have said that he wanted to benefit the club, help them economically but he did not do that either: insisted he was within his rights to rescind his contract and walk for free. Only one thing had stopped him: the risk of ending up in court. Nothing else.

All he wanted to avoid was a fight, but he was not backing down from one either – at least not with the man he held responsible for the fact so much was wrong. The best part of breaking up is the making up but there was no making up with those in charge. On the day he stayed, far from peace, there was a statement from his father reasserting Messi’s legal right to leave. Sure, there was talk of love for the club and the revelation that his children had cried but he would not allow that to serve to protect the president or pretend he welcomed this outcome.

Many supporters are with him on that: plenty wanted him to go, for his sake not theirs, a curious phenomenon emerging in which some of those most on his side backed his departure and some of those most turned against him demanded he stay. His supporters were saddened and hurt but saw other villains and felt he had earned the right to decide. Listening to him joylessly explaining the decision to stay, they would have agreed.

Messi remains, which should be something to be thankful for, but it did not feel like it. Not least because he would not hide behind a facade. Sometimes when players walk out, they deliver a parting shot; Messi delivered his when he walked back in again, the honesty brutal. There are acrimonious splits; this was an acrimonious reuniting.

Read that line again: “I’m staying because the president said the only way to go was to pay the €700m clause, which is impossible, [or] the other way was to go to court.” This from the club captain.


“For a long time now, there has been no project or anything. They’re performing a balancing act, plugging holes as they go along,” Messi said.

On September 06 2020 18:22 ThingArtistic4407 wrote:
Barca signing depay and windjalum is amazing, just the change they need in the midfield and striker. If Griezmann underperforms just sub him out for coutinho. Dembele is the biggest black spot on their team right now in terms of financial investment vs on the field production. Griezman is at least passable and now there isn’t the two alpha dog problem at forward with suarez gone so Messi can be the only giant ego on the team.

On September 08 2020 06:47 Liquid`Drone wrote:
Norway with the best performance in years (after a very disappointing match against Austria three days ago). (5-1 away vs Northern Ireland)

Haaland is unreal. Absolutely fantastic finishing from him. Already knew that though, so not surprised. What was pleasing was watching how he played with Alexander Sørloth - another striker talent who had a great season. Both scored 2 goals and assisted each other.

Northern Ireland was poor and will not be pleased by the game, so the result isn't really an indicator of how good our team is - any more than the dismal performance against Austria indicates how bad it is. But the performance - and then especially thinking about the striker duo, was genuinely top class.

On September 08 2020 06:52 Wombat_NornIron wrote:

Stop rubbing it in

I think we’re seeing our talent level when you don’t have a coach to get people playing on a collective ‘greater than the sum of their parts’ level