All the keys to the Messi-Barça-Alemany triangle and the future of Spanish football
The people of Madrid celebrate the Second of May in remembrance of those who gave their lives to prevent a French invasion. On the same day, Barça experienced their own Dos de Mayo, the umpteenth 1-0 victory over Osasuna that brought them closer to the league title and the lifting of the great strategist for the resurgence of the Catalan team, Mateu Alemany.
From France came news that activated Joan Laporta's business this summer: the return of Messi. The Parisian club sanctioned the Argentine player with two weeks off work and salary for going to Saudi Arabia to attend his commitments as ambassador of the country, economic rival of Qatar, the economy that runs PSG.
Nasser al-Khelaifi imposed the sanction on the No 10 personally with the sole purpose of making him refuse to sign the renewal contract he has on the table to continue one more year in the Gallic capital and disappear from a country that has never wanted him.
Messi arrived as the best player of all time, but his prominence was diluted from the first moment. In the Champions League he never made the grade, the leagues were won by inertia and money and the World Cup ended up dynamiting everything. The PSG star won France a World Cup organised by the owners of his club. The title was never recognised at the Parc des Princes, nor did Messi want to share it with his fans.
Mateu Alemany heads to Unai Emery's Aston Villa. Nassef Sawiris, the second richest African in the world, and Wes Edens, an American billionaire, are the new owners since 2018 who have decided to bet on the Villains to threaten the Premier League's Big Six.
Alemany will earn more money, but his real motivation is that he will have the ability to make signings, negotiate new arrivals and departures and make Villa a winning team from the offices, his natural habitat.
At Barça, there was no way around it. The levers have already done their job in the short term, but the debts are coming back and LaLiga is tightening its belt to comply with the economic control and avoid the bankruptcy of the Catalan club.
Faced with these prospects, Alemany has decided to accept the offer and leave for the Premier League. Barça say that the current director of football and CEO is leaving on 30 June, but that he is committed to leaving the summer signings closed. A toast to the sun because, the moment he sets foot in Birmingham, it will be impossible for him to benefit another club with his decisions.
The loss of Alemany and the sanctioning of Messi leave Barça at rock bottom and on the brink of the sporting abyss. Winning La Liga will be a good balm, but the seams will open up again and Laporta will have to decide whether he will reduce the club to mid-table without signings and with big sales to balance the budget or continue burning loans to survive.
Messi is his great asset. A player with more past than future who has his head in Miami, but who could return to Barcelona to continue in the elite and charge more than in the MLS. His fee is 50 million euros, which could be reduced to 25 million, but that includes Javier Tebas doing financial engineering to allow the arrival of the Argentine star and revitalise the competition.
Messi as the saviour of La Liga. Mbappé will not leave PSG, nor will Real Madrid try to sign him, Haaland will not leave Manchester, Cristiano is suffering a million-dollar retirement and only Messi is left to brighten a La Liga at a low ebb.
Barça are preparing the Dos de Mayo in their own way, France took their leader from them and now they will be the ones to get him back to lead the orchestra while the ship sinks.
