FC Barcelona

Barcelona officially fired manager Quique Setien on Monday, calling it a "the first decision within a wider restructuring of the first team which will be agreed between the current technical secretary and the new coach, who will be announced in the coming days."

In a separate statement, the Catalan club announced that the board of directors "have agreed that the date for the next presidential elections will be the first matchday past March 15, 2021."

As if Barca supporters didn't receive enough news of upheaval on Monday, the club also announced that starting goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was undergoing surgery on the patellar tendon in his right knee. It's unclear what the timetable for his return will be.

It's also unclear what Barcelona will look like next season.

Setien, 61, lasted just seven months as the club's manager after Ernesto Valverde—winner of two consecutive La Liga titles coming into the year with Barca—was sacked. Valverde's undoing likely started with last season's failure to advance past the Champions League semifinals.

The last straw for Setien's tenure was assuredly the club's 8-2 loss against Bayern Munich on Friday in this year's UCL quarterfinals—the sort of embarrassing loss that a club of Barcelona's stature simply doesn't abide.

But Barcelona also finished the 2019-20 season devoid of silverware, finishing second in the league table and falling to Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey quarters. That made Setien's dismissal inevitable.

As for his potential replacement Sid Lowe and Fabrizio Romano of The Guardian reported that Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman was being tipped to take over as manager. A major roster makeover could also occur.

By the way.

Before 2-8 Setien was going to be sacked anyway. And elections were going to take place in spring. Same as the club has announced today

Erm... Did 2-8 take place? And if so... Why has nothing else has happened? It should be a reason to raise your hand and go home

— Guillem Balague (@GuillemBalague) August 17, 2020

Koeman has also managed the Premier League's Southampton and Everton. But that won't prepare the longtime Barca defender/midfielder for stepping into one of the world's biggest clubs in a moment of crisis. If the Dutchman indeed is the club's next manager, his task will be a tall one.

Lionel Messi is looking for a transfer out of Barcelona, according to journalist Marcelo Bechler.

Friday: Beaten 8-2 by Bayern in the Champions League quarter-final

Sunday: @marcelobechler reports that Messi wants to leave the club this summer

Barcelona fans: pic.twitter.com/rQUWj7Yn4E

— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 16, 2020

If @marcelobechler says Messi is ready to leave Barcelona, then I believe him.
The biggest transfer story of our lifetime could be just around the corner 👀

— Dean Jones (@DeanJonesSoccer) August 16, 2020

Messi's current contract expires after the 2020-21 season. However, it wouldn't be surprising if he forged an exit before that after Barcelona's 8-2 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich laid bare how dysfunctional the club is on and off the pitch.

Messi might have turned 33 in June, but he could probably name his next stop, such would be the demand for his services. Although the six-time Ballon d'Or winner is on the wrong side of the aging curve, he remains capable of pulling off incredible goals.

Oh. My. Messi.

As only he could, the magician does it again. A masterclass in balance, precision, and skill puts @FCBarcelona up 3-1 on aggregate. pic.twitter.com/nKBPfu1Ywi

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) August 8, 2020

The Athletic's Adam Crafton wrote that match analysis from a 2017 El Clasico showed how Messi was being more economical with his movement:

"In the presentation, they focused on a match between Barcelona and Real Madrid in 2017, when Messi walked for 83 per cent of the five miles he covered in the game. Traditionally, football coaches would consider this to be inadequate from a leading player but using Metrica data, Fernandez and Bornn were able to demonstrate how Messi identified 'high-value locations' to create possibilities for Barcelona. Bobby Gardiner, a data scientist at a leading European club, wrote an article interpreting the research and concluded that 'in 66 per cent of the moments Messi won control of valuable space, he was walking. Even while strolling, he is helping his team by holding ground in valuable areas, waiting for the ball to come to him.'"

Even assuming Messi is past his prime, his time as a world-class footballer isn't over.

Losing Messi would obviously be a devastating blow to Barcelona, both in terms of the playing squad and what it would mean on a symbolic level. The Argentine star has spent his entire professional career in Catalonia. His transfer would represent a significant rebuke as to where he believes the club to be.

To some extent, selling Messi on might be the kind of shock to the system Barcelona requires to make meaningful changes.

"Coaches and players follow one another, but it has been several years since we have been able to be competitive on a European level," Gerard Pique told reporters after the Bayern defeat. "... The club needs changes. And I'm not talking at the level of the coach or the players, but structurally the club needs changes of all kinds. We must bring in new blood to change this dynamic, and if necessary, I would be the first to leave."

The 8-2 thrashing at hands of Bayern follows a 4-0 loss to Liverpool in the second leg of last year's quarterfinals and a 3-0 collapse at the hands of Roma in the second leg of the 2017-18 quarters.

In recent seasons, Barcelona remained near the top of La Liga thanks in large part to Messi's presence. Their reliance on him then gets exposed in the Champions League.

As long as he remains at the Camp Nou, the problem might persist.

Barcelona reportedly have chosen to fire manager Quique Setien following the club's 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals on Friday, per Fabrizio Romano of Sky Sports. 

Setien, who replaced Ernesto Valverde in January, went 16-4-5 leading Barcelona, who finished second to Real Madrid in La Liga this season. The 61-year-old has been a manager for 20 years and most recently led Real Betis from 2017-2019.

Setien acknowledged that he may no longer lead Barcelona in a post-match conversation with reporters, per Joe Prince-Wright of NBC Sports:

"You have to think always that the future will be better, that you can improve the image we showed today, above all thinking of the future. I think that right now it's too soon to be talking about whether I stay at the club or not. The reality is that it doesn't depend on me. It's worth all of us working out what's important and considering a wide range of things which correspond to a defeat of this importance and which is so painful."

The score was tied at one after seven minutes, but Bayern scored three goals in a 10-minute stretch to take a 4-1 lead in the 31st minute. Luis Suarez got one back to pull Barcelona within 4-2, but Bayern Munich closed with four goals, including three in the final eight minutes before added time.

Thomas Muller and Philippe Coutinho each scored twice for Bayern Munich, who will play either Manchester City or Lyon in the semifinals.

Lionel Messi is planning to leave Barcelona when his contract expires in 2021, according to Manu Carreno of Cadena Ser (via Santi Gimenez of AS).

The superstar has apparently halted all talks with the club about renewing his contract after initial discussions appeared to be going well between his father and Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

Among the reported concerns from Messi, he believes "certain sections of the club always blame him for everything that goes wrong at the Camp Nou," per Gimenez.

According to Moises Llorens and Sam Marsden of ESPN, Messi felt he was incorrectly blamed for the firing of Ernesto Valverde. After sporting director Eric Abidal indicated some unnamed players weren't happy with Valverde, Messi hit back with a message on Instagram.

"When things don't go well on the pitch, the players are the first ones to recognise as much," he wrote. "Those in the sporting department at the club should also take responsibility for their actions and decisions."

Messi has put together an incredible career at Barcelona, winning the Ballon d'Or six times. He scored his 700th career goal Tuesday in a draw against Atletico Madrid:

Messi’s 700th career goal was a panenka.

Ice cold ❄️

(via @beINSPORTS_EN)pic.twitter.com/FBM3e36P43

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 30, 2020

Even at 33, he remains an elite player with 22 goals and 17 assists in La Liga this season, leading the league in each category.

His individual production hasn't been enough to carry Barcelona, however, as the club sits four points behind Real Madrid for first place in the table.

The legend of Lionel Messi continues to grow.

The Barcelona superstar scored his 700th career goal between club and country during Barca's 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid in La Liga at the Camp Nou on Tuesday. His 630 goals for Barcelona in 724 total appearances and 70 goals for Argentina in 138 caps are both records by a wide margin. Barca's Cesar Rodriguez (232 goals) and Argentina's Gabriel Batistuta (52 goals) are a distant second.

7⃣0⃣0⃣ goals for club & country. Leo Messi 👏👏👏#UCL | @FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/ouDKKS7CDH

— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) June 30, 2020

He is also La Liga's all-time leading scorer, with 441 goals, and has scored 20 or more goals in league play in 12 straight seasons. Former Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, now with Juventus, is second all-time in La Liga history with 311 tallies.

Ronaldo is the only other active player with over 700 goals for club and country.

Cristiano Ronaldo:
❍ 729 career goals
❍ 629 club
❍ 99 country

Lionel Messi:
❍ 700 career goals
❍ 630 club
❍ 70 country

We have been treated to greatness. Twice. https://t.co/TsB20nFCkT

— Squawka (@Squawka) June 30, 2020

They are in a select club of just seven players ever to have reached the milestone:

With a penalty kick, Lionel Messi joined "The 700 Club." He has scored 630 goals for Barcelona and 70 playing for Argentina. pic.twitter.com/uy942hqbv7

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 30, 2020

For over a decade, soccer fans have gotten to watch two of the greatest players in history go back and forth, scoring goals at a breakneck pace, collecting awards nearly as quickly and dominating the sport. Wherever people fall on the Messi vs. Ronaldo debate, there's little doubting the impact both have had on the sport.

But while Messi stole the headlines Tuesday, Barcelona's 2-2 draw kept it a point behind Real Madrid, with Los Blancos holding a game in hand. With just five games remaining for Barca, the Catalan side is in real danger of conceding the title to its bitter rivals.

Barcelona has won the last two La Liga titles and has been champion in eight of the past 11 seasons. Real Madrid last took home the title in the 2016-17 campaign.

On Lionel Messi's 33rd birthday, we've taken a look back through his career so far and picked out his best team-mates—with a twist.

This isn't just a list of the best 10 he's played with; it's a ranking of those he connected with on the pitch, those who formed formidable partnerships and great relationships once the white line was crossed.

David Villa, a player who enjoyed a wildly successful spell with Barcelona and combined with Messi brilliantly, just missed the top 10. That gives an indication of just how strong or entrenched the link must be to crack this list.

On the latest B/R Football Ranks podcast, the team rank the greatest moments of Leo Messi's career. Listen below and subscribe here. 

       

10. Javier Mascherano

Games together: 413 (Barcelona, 2010-18, Argentina 2005-18)

Only three players in history have clocked up more appearances alongside Messi than Mascherano, who linked up with him for both club and country. From 2010-18, no matter where he was in the world or what shirt he had on, Messi would be right there with him.

That's a luxury many may have dreamed of, but only Mascherano has experienced.

That club plus country element is a key reason as to why he features on this list. Their interactions on the pitch at Barcelona were limited due to the fact Mascherano played more centre-back than holding midfield, but on the international stage they combined to form the two most important reference points on the pitch: the midfield general and the attacking star.

Argentina's inexplicable failure to win an international trophy during Messi's career reflects poorly on many (players and managers alike), but Mascherano held up his end of the bargain, protecting a defence that has never felt strong and stabilising the middle so Messi's task at the other end wasn't insurmountable.

         

9. Jordi Alba

Games together: 290 (Barcelona, 2012-)

It's perhaps indicative of the team's current performance that the majority of this list is made up of ex-players, with Alba just one of two current colleagues featuring.

A left-back probably isn't where your mind immediately goes when considering the best connections Messi's had on the pitch, but a good number of Barcelona's most dangerous attacking moves involve these two nowadays—and what's interesting is it's often the exact same move or pattern.

Almost every single one of Alba's assists to Messi have been low balls into the box, the former understanding and anticipating the latter's movement and timing as well as any ever have. 

From 2012-16, we'd often see Alba overlap the left-winger, be fed the ball and then find Messi. From 2017 their connection has gotten even stronger, with Messi often finding Alba out wide then seeing the ball returned for a shot.

They're basically one-twos between themselves across an entire half of a pitch, against a full team.

It remains arguably Barca's most effective route to goal in 2020—outside of Messi taking matters solely into his own hands.

          

8. Ronaldinho

Games together: 80 (Barcelona, 2004-08)

More than 30 players have played more games with Messi than Ronaldinho did, whose 80 appearances alongside the Argentinian is the lowest on this list. But few can claim to have had the effect Ronaldinho did on Messi's growth and development.

The Argentinian's first senior goal was set up by Ronaldinho, who celebrated by hoisting the youngster on to his back and parading around. It was the beginning of a beautiful, symbiotic relationship on the pitch.

Messi, the book of Spanish football expert Guillem Balague, details how Ronaldinho welcomed the Argentina international into the Brazilian circle at Barca, taking on a kind of mentoring role off the pitch, while helping unlock the talent on it. Whatever he did worked a treat, as the world's best player soon blossomed, needing just a few years to reach the very top.

Ronaldinho was gone by 2008, shifted on by then-manager Pep Guardiola as he looked to remodel the team. What he left, in Messi, has served them well in his wake.

      

7. Xavi

Games together: 399 (Barcelona, 2004-15)

From 2008-2014, Barca's strongest midfield trio saw Xavi line up on the right, Andres Iniesta on the left and Sergio Busquets just behind them. They combined to dazzling effect, bringing to life the elements of "tiki-taka" so often associated with Guardiola's Barcelona and Spain's world-conquering side.

Xavi's link to Messi was naturally pretty strong, given the two would play on the same side of the pitch for seasons at a time and constantly interchange passes. When Dani Alves overlapped and Messi ducked inside, it was often Xavi who would find the No. 10 with a pass into a tight spot.

These were no regular passes; they'd be regarded by many as impossible, fired into incredibly tight areas, but Xavi's accuracy, technique and weight of pass allowed him to do it.

When Barca tried to keep the ball, effectively starving opponents of possession to lock them out of games, Xavi would orchestrate, and Messi would be a key a outlet for a one-two.

       

6. Neymar

Games together: 161 (Barcelona, 2013-17)

It's not a given that fellow illustrious technicians and mercurial dribblers mesh with Messi. We've seen plenty of examples over the years of top-tier players struggling to co-exist with him (Philippe Coutinho is a headline example, Antoine Griezmann a concern to keep an eye on), so there will have been a few nerves surrounding Neymar's integration into the team.

But the pair found their groove pretty quickly, helping each other by sharing the load up front and chipping in when the other didn't. When both were firing, teams were best off waving the white flag.

Their connection was at its best in the run to the 2015 Champions League win, with Messi playing right-wing and Neymar left. Barca built play up the right and found Messi, who would then play a pinpoint switch pass to Neymar on the other flank, most likely in a one-on-one with his marker.

Neymar blitzed teams that year, netting 39 goals and bagging 10 assists. Fittingly, a goal of this exact making occurred in the Champions League final against Juventus, cementing the connection in legend.

       

5. Pedro

Games together: 270 (Barcelona, 2008-15)

Due to the overwhelming star quality across Barcelona's squads through the years, Pedro was never regarded as a key man. But he does rank among the cleverest forwards Messi has ever played alongside, profiting greatly off the amount of space the No. 10 created as a byproduct of being so heavily attended to.

Pedro essentially resembled the Spanish version of Thomas Muller at Barca. A "raumdeuter," or "space investigator," he reacted and moved according to the space that opened as Messi weaved his magic. 

He converted these little movements and moments into just shy of 100 goals for Barca in all competitions. He also marked himself out as a man for the big stage, netting the opener in the 2011 Champions League final by pulling to the right as defenders zeroed in on Messi before receiving the Argentinian's clever pass and slotting home.

A remarkable opportunist and a cool two-footed finisher, Pedro did more for Barca than a legion of players with twice the talent because he understood how to use Messi's brilliance for his (and his team's) benefit.

       

4. Sergio Busquets

Games together: 515 (Barcelona, 2008-)

Busquets' sheer number of games played with Messi—a whopping 515—cements an automatic spot in this list, but it's the importance of their connection that necessitates such a high ranking.

There's a natural separation between Busquets and Messi on the pitch, a product of their divide in responsibilities. Despite the distance between them, it's long been the defensive midfielder's job to find the Argentinian as early and often as possible—and he's done so for more than a decade.

The best Barca sides Busquets and Messi have been part of—Pep's 2009 and 2011 variants—were famous for their tiki-taka approach and leaned heavily on Xavi and Iniesta, but Busquets' ability to thread passes through multiple lines, finding Messi from deeper positions, led to countless attacks and goals.

He utilises incredible disguise on his passes and movements, continually sending opposing defenders (and viewers' eyes) the wrong way, creating a lane to find Messi. And from there, Messi turns and wreaks havoc.

Even after all this time, more than a decade, that passing lane is continually open and often used. No one can stop it, and it remains an important tenet in the team's play.

           

3. Andres Iniesta

Games together: 489 (Barcelona, 2004-18)

Messi and Iniesta isn't the sort of iconic duo that typically springs to mind when you think about Barcelona's great partnerships of the past.

The latter's name is far more closely associated with Xavi, while Messi's goes with a litany of forwards before his midfield colleagues, but their almost unspoken-of connection on the pitch helped drive Barca to success.

They had a telepathic understanding that they maintained throughout various changes in position for both of them. Whether Messi was up top or on the right, whether Iniesta was in the centre or off the left, they found each other, played off each other and constructed for one another.

Of Barca's usual midfield three, Iniesta was the one who would break into the box more and push ahead of the ball. When doing so he'd enter Messi's territory, and the pair's link-up and interchanges were slick. One-touch passes, one-twos and through balls turned into goals.

It was automatic, beautiful and unstoppable.

       

2. Luis Suarez

Games together: 248 (Barcelona, 2014-)

We've detailed an illustrious list of forwards who have had a special bond with Messi on the pitch, but none have enjoyed themselves quite as much as Luis Suarez.

Things didn't actually start that smoothly; like with David Villa, there was a question over how the pair should be deployed together, with Suarez initially on the right-wing and Messi playing through the centre.

With everyone in agreement that a switch would work, Suarez took up the No. 9 position and never looked back. Operating in more natural roles, the two have combined for continual fireworks, scoring and assisting each other liberally.

In 2018, Suarez overtook Dani Alves' record of league assists to Messi, surpassing the figure of 26 against Valencia. That came after Messi (and Neymar) spent practically the entire 2015-16 campaign setting Suarez up for goals in order to win the Pichichi Trophy ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo. He scooped it, netting 40 in total.

Suarez's ability in tight spots, willingness to string slick moves together and dogged work rate have helped Messi in a variety of ways, and few have brought a smile to his face more often.

     

1. Dani Alves

Games together: 349 (Barcelona, 2008-2016)

Messi's connection with Alba is prominent, but he's on the opposite flank, so interactions are naturally limited to specific passages or moves that link the two.

His connection with Alves was different. Occupying the same side, or drifting wide towards him when playing centrally, the two combined countless times over a glorious eight-year period.

Alves was nominally Barcelona's right-back, but such was their dominance of territory and possession, he basically played as Barca's entire right side. He'd combine with Messi to build play up the right then hold the width as the No. 10 ducked inside, teasing balls and crosses in; one-twos in tight spaces were very common, as were Alves-to-Messi assists—there were 26 in La Liga alone.

There was another important element to their relationship too: Alves' incredible stamina. He'd often cover Messi's defensive responsibilities, burning up and down the flank all game, allowing the Argentinian to flit between sprinting and walking, saving up his juice for genius moments.

Barcelona haven't come close to the heights of 2009, 2011 and 2015 since that latter date, and there are myriad reasons for that, but Alves' slight decline and departure is among the key factors. Messi misses him, so Barca miss him.

           

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It was less than two months ago that Manchester United made an attempt to distance themselves from extravagant transfer rumours.

"I cannot help feeling that speculation around transfers of individual players for hundreds of millions of pounds this summer seems to ignore the realities that face the sport," explained executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward as Britain began to come to terms with lockdown and the world faced up to a new version of normal amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

Yet here we are, seven weeks on from Woodward's statement, and United find themselves being heavily linked with Barcelona forward Ansu Fati, with suggestions he might soon become one of the most expensive player transfers of all time.

Aged just 17, Fati is undoubtedly an exciting talent. He broke into the Barca team at the start of this season and became the club's youngest goalscorer in history. He has already played 25 times for the club and has been described by Lionel Messi as an "amazing player."

But talk of a £135 million transfer seems to be exactly what Woodward had warned against.

Focus on Fati's future kicked off last week as a report from Lluis Miguelsanz of Sport in Spain said Manchester United had a €100 million (£89.4 million) offer rejected but would come back with another bid.

In England, Duncan Castles wrote for The Times (h/t Metro) that United have made a new advanced offer of €150 million. However, it's said Barca rebuffed the approach.

Toni Juanmarti of Sport has continued to build the momentum around Fati's potential switch, listing reasons why United want to sign him—such as the fact that he has a fantastic attitude and a style of play that suits the Premier League.

The story keeps gathering pace despite sources at the other end being keen to distance themselves from the rumour.

One trusted insider who is familiar with many of Manchester United's transfer discussions told Bleacher Report that Fati's name "has not been discussed" ahead of the next window.

Other informed figures feel transfer negotiators Woodward and Matt Judge simply would not sanction such a move at these uncertain times. It seems a valid point. 

If there is concern about paying £100 million for genuine long-term target Jadon Sancho—a homegrown player with regularly proven Bundesliga and Champions League ability—it would seem sensible to assume there is more fear over a player with less experience and a lower profile.

So what's going on?

Ansu Fati's signing would excite the fans. Not only for the present, but also for the future. Manchester United are ready to splash serious money on the forward. [sport]

— barcacentre (@barcacentre) June 16, 2020

Well, one B/R source believes United had small interest in Fati in the past—and that could be why the story is surfacing now. Ahead of the January window, when the club were drawing up long-term targets, Fati was mentioned as someone whose situation was worth exploring. Ultimately, it quickly became clear he would not be available. 

Over in Spain, there are a couple of theories among journalists and agents about the progress of this storyline over the past week. 

One is that super-agent Jorge Mendes is becoming involved with the player and is using his contacts to act as an intermediary between the two clubs. There is a feeling this could all be a power play to show he can make things happen for the player, with the deal now being discussed widely in public.

Another theory is that the Barcelona board are happy to help create a narrative that makes it look like they have big clubs trying to sign him and that they are fighting to hold on to one of their brightest talents.

As one source explained: "All that matters to certain people at the club is public perception. It would not surprise me if this was all some sort of stunt that has been generated to show them in a positive light." 

Sources told us that Barcelona know that Fati does not want to leave. He has spoken publicly about how being part of the side feels like a dream—and past negotiations mean we should expect an improved contract when he reaches his 18th birthday in October. A new €400 million release clause is also mooted.

To put the whole story into context, we should consider the bigger picture at Barcelona and how Fati might fit into the plans.

The matter that complicates his immediate future is that Barca want to strengthen their attack with a high-profile signing in the next window. For some board members, Lautaro Martinez is the man they want. But for others, and even some within the dressing room, a move to bring back Neymar Jr. would be the dream.

In order to make either signing, funds need to be raised. The club's cashflow has run into problems, and avenues that intermediaries have been exploring to offload fringe talent, such as Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho, are leading to a dead-end at every turn.

And that is where Fati becomes an interesting case. Where does he fit in?

He already has competition from Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Luis Suarez and Martin Braithwaite in the forward positions—as well as Dembele and Coutinho if they hang around.

Some players would find that frustrating, and some clubs would be tempted to cash in. But neither of those factors are going to be strong enough for Fati to permanently leave Barca at this stage.

On Tuesday night, he started against Leganes and scored the opening goal in a 2-0 win with a brilliant quickly taken shot from the edge of the box. He has scored five goals so far this season, and some important ones at that. It would be an own-goal for Barca to sell him.

We should fully expect Fati's long-term future to be at Barcelona. He's a phenomenal talent, and he could be one of their most important players for the next decade.

While world football is slowly returning to a state of normalcy, Barcelona star Lionel Messi pondered whether the coronavirus pandemic will leave long-term consequences.

"Football, like life in general, I think will never be the same," Messi said in an interview with Spanish paper El Pais (h/t Barcelona's official site). "The return to training, competitions and what was previously done in a normal way, now will have to be started again, but progressively. It will be a strange situation for us and for anyone who has to change their usual working dynamics."

The Bundesliga returned with matches in empty stadiums in mid-May, while the Premier League is slated to resume June 17. La Liga will be back June 11, with players going through full training for the first time Monday.

As Messi alluded to, though, the shadow of the pandemic will continue to loom.

Like other leagues, La Liga will close off matches to supporters to limit the spread of COVID-19. Fox Sports has piped in audio during its Bundesliga broadcasts to make up for the absence of crowd atmosphere, but watching players celebrate in front of empty stands remains jarring.

Dortmund celebrate their win in front of their iconic Yellow Wall — even when it's empty 😅

(via @btsportfootball) pic.twitter.com/YT3IcNsKVU

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 16, 2020

While a possibility, it's not a sure thing that the pandemic will have slowed enough to allow for fans during the 2020-21 season.

More than the situation's impact on his sport, Messi spoke about the damage it has caused to society as a whole.

"All of us that have experienced this situation will remember what happened in one way or another," he said, (h/t ESPN). "In my case, it's with a feeling of sorrow and frustration for those that have suffered the most due to the loss of loved ones."

According to the World Health Organization, Spain has 239,600 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with 29,043 people dying from the disease.

Despite last season's humiliating exit to Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League semi-final at Anfield, Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu and his board could look back with a sense of satisfaction at the club's financial performance.

On paper, things looked rosy. Barca leapfrogged eternal rivals Real Madrid to become football's biggest earner at the top of the annual Deloitte Money League for 2018-2019, registering a 22 per cent increase in revenue from the previous year. Their income of €840.8 million was a chunky €83.5 million more than Real Madrid's.

The COVID-19 crisis has changed everything, however. It brings into stark relief several questionable aspects about Barca's finances, their future earning potential and their ability to remain a force on the pitch in elite football.

Football is a volatile business. Leeds United—who once beat Barca in a European Cup semi-final—have been out of the top tier of English football since 2004. It looks as if at least a decade will pass before Manchester United regain the English Premier League crown they last won in 2013.

The fall of the mighty AC Milan—who have won more European Cups than any other club except Real Madrid—is another cautionary tale. They were consistently the third-wealthiest club in football in the middle of the 2000s, but now they're outside football's top 20 earners.

Barcelona—along with their great rivals in European club football—are under threat. The football industry, which remained immune to the 2008 global financial crash, is on the front line this time of a potentially deep global recession. It's being hit by a far-from-perfect storm.

Barcelona have already lost €154 million as a result of the coronavirus crisis, according to a report in La Vanguardia. This is irrespective of whether there is a conclusion to the 2019-2020 La Liga season, which is set to restart in mid-June (according to La Liga President Javier Tebas, the league will lose €1 billion if it fails to finish its remaining games).

Since the Spanish government brought in a lockdown on March 14, Barca's museum, which earned the club €58 million last year, has been shut. The club's superstores in the city—including one they opened last year along La Rambla, the city's famous boulevard—have also been shut. With the prospect of little international tourism for the rest of the year in Spain, their footfall will remain low when they reopen as part of Spain's phased de-escalation.

All over Barca's business, several income streams have either slowed to a trickle or dried up for the rest of the year. There will be no lucrative summer tour in 2020. Their football schools still have a €15 million payment pending for the final third of their season. That income looks lost. The transfer values of their players have likely plummeted.

Worst of all, it's unlikely the 99,000-seater Camp Nou stadium will open its doors again to the public this year, according to several sources, including Tebas. And this is the optimistic scenario.

Who knows how the coronavirus will develop, whether a second wave will hit Europe or if football fans will be able to stomach watching football in empty stadiums on TV. It could demand some experimental thinking, says Simon Kuper, co-author of Soccernomics and an upcoming book on Barcelona.

"The risk with this pandemic is that football has never paused for this long before [even during World Wars]," says Kuper. "Maybe La Liga will start playing again, but if not, you could have people getting used to a life without watching football on TV. Without fans, it's never been tested. We do know that Serie A games [in the 1990s] famously looked terrible on TV because they were played in front of half-empty stadiums.

"One option that might become a reality—crazy as it sounds—is that football decamps to Australia and New Zealand if they can become COVID-free zones. You'd have, say, the Spanish league (and the Bundesliga, the English Premier League, cricket leagues) and its players moving there for six months with a two-week quarantine.

"Their matches could be played in front of full stadiums in Sydney and Melbourne, games which would be seen on TV stations all over the world—rather than having to watch Real Madrid playing at an empty Alfredo di Stefano training ground [as is planned for La Liga's restart to enable the club to accelerate remodelling of its Santiago Bernabeu Stadium]." 

Barcelona's problems are compounded by reckless spending. They recently splurged several-hundred million euros on misfiring stars, including Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho, while the jury is still out on Antoine Griezmann, who has yet to jell with Lionel Messi in the team's attack.

Barca also incur the highest wage bill of any football club in the world. The squad earns a yearly average of €11 million per player. The percentage of the club's salary relative to their revenue is 69 per cent, which is dangerously high. Real Madrid's, for example, is 52 per cent.

"If you calculate this figure by taking into account player transfers, that percentage increases and goes above 80 per cent," says Victor Font, who has declared he will run for president of Barcelona at the next election. "Barca have the most expensive team on earth. Obviously the fact that you have Messi—who is the best in the world—is [a factor]. The problem is that the club is paying out too much on other players.

"Barcelona haven't managed their finances properly over the last few years since the last election [in 2015]. We've seen that trend deteriorate since the debacle of Neymar's transfer in 2017 with a couple of very expensive, unsuccessful signings. The club has spent €1 billion on transfers that have not returned the types of results the club's fans were expecting. Combine this with poor management of the core structure of the club, and it has put Barca in a difficult position.

"If you add in the pandemic, it has made the situation worse. It's likely the club will try to explain the difficulty in their finances through the COVID-19 pandemic, but the underlying problems were there already. What we need now is a proper plan to better manage the cost structure and create new revenue streams." 

One way to help with a creaking cost structure is to cut the club's wage bill, but it's notoriously difficult to offload aging, out-of-favour footballers from top clubs who still have time to run on their sweetheart contracts. Look at the Gareth Bale saga at Real Madrid.

Or 32-year-old Ivan Rakitic's case at Barcelona. The Croat said in an interview with Mundo Deportivo in April that he felt like "a sack of potatoes" after Barcelona tried to sell him last summer against his wishes. He wants to see out his contract, which runs until 2021.

"Over time, we're going to see a shrinking of middle-tier high-earners," says Ben Lyttleton, author of Edge: What Business Can Learn From Football. "The really high-earners will retain their value, but the middle high-earners will have to take lower contracts at some point. There will be more opportunities for clubs to give younger players a chance to keep the wage bills down.

"We'll see clubs trying to move on players with good deals. We'll see more swap deals, more loans. There will be a change in how the market will operate. There will be opportunities for smart clubs to find value.

"With a player like Rakitic, there are only a certain number of clubs he would go to. Maybe Barca take the hit and say, 'Go to Napoli, and we'll pay half your wages,' going one level below where he is now. That might have to be the solution that works for everyone. It's a complicated situation."

Barcelona's debt is also troubling, especially given the club's ambitious plans for revamping the Camp Nou in what's called the Espai Barca project. There are conflicting reports about the actual debt figure. The club maintains it is €460 million, although elsewhere it has been reported as being as high as €888 million.

"The club's debt is very high," says Font. "It's much higher than what the club explains. It's something we don't understand: why the club is not being fully transparent, especially given the ownership structure of the club. It's not a publicly listed company, but at the same time, it's not owned by the board. There's no single owner. There should be more transparency.

"It's really hard to distil the actual debt [from the annual accounts]. It's also not taking into account any debt or investment that is being made for the Espai Barca project. What also increases the real debt amount are cash advances that some entities have made, for example, if a sponsor signs a sponsorship deal for, say, €10 million a year, and Barca has asked them to advance the cash.

"When you add everything up, our estimate is that the debt is probably around €700 million, which puts the finances of the club in a perilous position, especially because of its limited profitability. The club generates a lot of revenue, but it spends a lot of money, so it does not generate enough cash to pay the debt back. Obviously when you have this type of financial situation at the time you need to build a new team and pay for the Espai Barca project, that's a concern."

Font adds that Real Madrid have been a lot more "prudent" in managing their finances over the last few years, which puts them in a stronger position facing into a downturn: "They've built a war chest."

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The footballer who has most regularly featured on the front cover of Catalonia's sports newspapers over the last few months has been Lautaro Martinez, the Inter Milan and Argentina striker. He's seen as a successor to Luis Suarez at the club, and he enjoys the blessing of Messi, his compatriot. Can Barcelona afford to buy him this summer, though, given the state of its finances? 

"Barca can buy Lautaro," says Joan Josep Pallas, sports editor of La Vanguardia. "This player in particular is possible because the club could, for example, include a player in exchange to reduce the cost of the transfer.

"If Barca could get Arturo Vidal and Rakitic—two players who are in their 30s and on expensive salaries—to switch for Lautaro, who is 22 years old and has a lot of years to justify his transfer fee, it could work. The problem always for the club is to convince players that they have to leave. Of the 19 players in Barca's squad at the moment, none of them finish their contracts this summer.

"Besides, Lautaro's not a player who commands a very high salary, and the impact of his transfer fee—if it's, say, €70 million—will be spread over five years so you're not paying the full amount up front. What worries Barca most at the moment is not the price of footballers, but the salaries of footballers." 

Messi's salary dwarfs those of his teammates. According to an investigation by Der Spiegel based on Football Leaks documents, Messi was guaranteed a yearly salary of €106 million over four years—which accounts for 40 per cent of the club's salary base—when he renegotiated his contract in 2017.

At the time, the scale of his salary prompted one club executive to remark, according to Football Leaks: "The player needs to be aware of how disproportionately high his salary is relative to the rest of the team," which now reads like a chilling note given the financial crisis the club is facing. If they end up in dire financial straits, could the club be forced into a nuclear option? Would they sell Messi?

"If the club let Messi go, he would always be welcome back to Barca, but the directors who let him go would not only have to leave the city of Barcelona, they'd have to leave Europe," says Santi Gimenez, a journalist with Diario AS.

Maybe the club would never sell Messi, but they might be forced to drastically cut the salaries of him and his teammates (the players are already on a temporary 72 per cent pay cut while the season is suspended).

"If Barcelona's revenue decreases by, say, 30 per cent, the club will have to renegotiate players' salaries," says Pallas. "La Liga President Javier Tebas will propose that the clubs reduce their salaries too. It's the only way football can be sustainable for the coming season, because if you lose 30 per cent of your income, you have to trim expenses, especially when Barca's salaries are their biggest expense.

"The players know as well it would be important for their public image. If one player refused to reduce his salary, it wouldn't go down well with fans. It will be the same for all of Spain's premier division clubs—not just Barca."

If Spanish football—which accounts for 184,000 jobs in the Spanish economy—ends up in a deep recession, it will be the country's smaller clubs that hit the rocks. Many will face bankruptcy. But a club like Barca, which is run by its members and is one of the pillars of Catalan society, will endure. Pallas reckons there would be a "revolution" if it disappeared.  

"All these football clubs will survive," says Kuper. "After the last global financial crisis, UD Salamanca went bust [in 2013] and then they were quickly refounded. You can find in all of western Europe about eight or 10 very small clubs that went bust. Big football clubs like Barca don't go bust. Or correction—they do sometimes go bankrupt, but then they just create a new company and put the football club in that [entity] and continue as if nothing happened. That's what happened with Fiorentina in 2002.

"Remember, Barca's revenues have risen six-fold since about 2003. So even if they lost 80 per cent of their revenue, which I don't think anyone expects, that just takes you back to 2003 when players were pretty well paid. It's not like a restaurant where, if you're making losses, the owner closes down the joint.

"In five years' time, Barca will still be one of football's big clubs. Even if it's been a disaster during that period—say football has had a very long pandemic, three years without crowds, revenues have dropped by 70 per cent—Barca would be back to its revenues of 2007 or 2008. So no big deal. They'll still be a big club, paying footballers multimillion salaries.

"But the club will have the obvious on-field problem of the Messi succession. They've built the club around him. It's hard to see—if he's still playing—that he will be as dominant. You also have this whole generation of Busquets, Pique, Messi to replace. Even when you spend €100 million on people like Coutinho, Griezmann and Dembele, it doesn't seem to work out very well. So you could imagine the club is worried about a Manchester United-type decline."

                         

Follow Richard on Twitter: @Richard_Fitz

There was a moment in Spain's opening game of the UEFA Euro 2012 finals when Andres Iniesta—who went on to be named as player of the tournament—was surrounded by five Italian players trying to steal the ball from him. There's a beautiful symmetry to the image, which has become an iconic sports photograph. Iniesta is wearing his blood-red Spain jersey, his five pursuers—who form a near-perfect circle around him—are in the traditional savoy blue of the Azzurri.

"It was like a 'rondo' [piggy-in-the-middle training exercise] with Iniesta in the middle surrounded by all these Italians. It captured the anarchy that he unleashes," says Alfredo Relano, honorary president of Diario AS. "Iniesta represented—along with Xavi maybe—the purest essence of the model of football that gave Spain their successes in two European Championships [2008, 2012] and the World Cup [2010], and Barca the most glorious era in their history.

"He embodied a type of high-quality, very technical football. It didn't matter that he wasn't physically imposing—that he didn't have a big frame or that he hadn't ferocious speed or he wasn't great in the air. He was all about football based on touch. It was something different—this notion that you could play the best football in the world with total disregard for physique. In all the years I've been reporting football, I never thought it possible you could win this way.

"I remember a phrase that Cesar Luis Menotti [Argentina's 1978 FIFA World Cup-winning coach] once said: 'Spain had to decide between being a bull and being a 'torero' [bullfighter].' A torero weighs 70 kilos and a bull 500 kilos. Spain chose to play like the torero and it ended up winning everything with all these short-sized players. It wasn't only Iniesta—it was David Silva, Juan Mata, David Villa and all these other small players—but it was Iniesta who fundamentally represented that idea. He imposed himself because of science not because of strength."

Iniesta's career with Spain and Barcelona—the club he joined as a 12-year-old, ultimately going on to play on the first team for 16 years following his debut under Louis van Gaal in 2002—was extraordinary. It includes nine La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League winners' medals and a historic trio of consecutive titles with Spain at international level. He is also immortalised because of two unforgettable goals.

"Sure, he had the luck to score some legendary goals—at Stamford Bridge [90th-minute goal against Chelsea that qualified Barcelona for the 2009 UEFA Champions League final] and Johannesburg [extra-time winning goal against the Netherlands in 2010 FIFA World Cup final]," says Ramon Besa, a friend of Iniesta's and co-author of his autobiography, The Artist: Being Iniesta.

"I remember Pep Guardiola once said: 'In the foot of Iniesta rests the faith of 'barcelonismo' (Barcelona's football fans).' I'm sure Vicente del Bosque felt the same way about 'la seleccion' [the Spain national football team]. If Spaniards had to select a player to score the winning goal in a World Cup final, Iniesta would probably be among the most voted for, if not the most. I have always said that Iniesta played the role of Messi in Spain's national football team."

Iniesta will forever be linked with Messi and their club team-mate, Xavi Hernandez (the three famously shared a podium together at the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony in January 2011). All three of them are small men. All three of them have incredible ball control. Marti Riverola, a former team-mate at Barcelona, makes an interesting distinction about the two Barcelona and Spain midfielders. 

"Xavi and Iniesta had different characteristics," says Riverola. "Xavi was more about positional play—about getting on the ball, keeping it, and holding a position—whereas Iniesta wants to attack an opposition's defensive line. Xavi kept the ball, but Iniesta goes forward, which creates more chances and often ends in a goal. Iniesta was more vertical [direct] than Xavi. Iniesta wants to attack. He wants to score. His mind is always thinking about breaking between the lines.

"Iniesta had something special. With his first touch, Iniesta always knew what way he was going to go. He could turn and change the rhythm of the play, leaving you trailing behind in his wake. It was impossible to take the ball off him. He has eyes at the back of his head. When you played with him in training, he was constantly looking behind himself so he always knew the next move of opposition players. It makes a difference because it means he's always two seconds ahead of every play."

Iniesta's mesmerising ball control is possibly his defining trait. Few, if any, players from the modern era are as graceful on the ball. Few have had the ability to master it so well in tight spaces, to elude the snapping tackles of defenders, to manoeuvre it at will, as if in charge of the proverbial ball on a string, always it seems with a fraction of a second to spare.

"He's just an exquisite technical footballer," says Besa. "There is no player like him to master that relationship between time and space on a football field. He's so elegant on the ball; it's almost impossible to take it off him when he has it. He has a love affair with the ball that I've never seen matched in another player, with the possible exception of Michael Laudrup.

"Other players may also have been very skilful, like Zinedine Zidane, but Iniesta can't rely on protecting the ball with his body [like a bigger, stronger player can], which meant he had to become an escapologist—so he could disappear into thin air. When you watch him, he glides around the pitch like he's skating."

Iniesta has been forthright in revealing his struggles with mental health, which he goes into in detail in his autobiography. He is universally regarded as one of the gentlemen of the game. In almost 900 official football games, he has never been sent off. But the "Mr Nice Guy" label belies a steely determination and focus.

"Guardiola often said that 'Iniesta was like the perfect son'—the perfect player, the perfect human," says Riverola. "He never complained, never caused trouble, always on time, listened to the coach when he spoke. He doesn't have any tattoos. He's a model professional. At La Masia, he always did everything he could to develop himself and become the best player he could be. He was never distracted by a social life or celebrity. He only ever wanted to improve himself as a footballer. 

"At training every day, he was always 100 per cent focused. When you see it in perspective—after my career in football with different clubs—you appreciate the effort he put in. Sometimes, players are tired or they're not in the mood to go training, but Iniesta was always showing you that you have to be focused every day and do yourself justice.

"You can see at Barca, that kind of focus is dwindling year by year. Ten years ago, players used to go 100 per cent in training. Now, it seems, they think they only have to show up on Sunday for matches. It's why they're not getting the same results as in the past. Iniesta grew up with a philosophy of working hard, which other players at La Masia had, too. It's why Guardiola's Barca team was always winning games 6-0, 5-0, 7-1—not because they wanted to ridicule opposition teams, but because they wanted to give 100 per cent of themselves."

"It's definitely notable that Iniesta has always been so kind and such an upright character," adds Relano. "In Spanish, we talk about certain players having a sense of cunning—'la mala leche' (bad milk). It usually helps—the enormous ambition, the great players have. Traditionally, they're predators. They will stop at nothing.

"But it's not a characteristic you associate with Iniesta. After 15, 16 years playing at the top level, I can't recall an unsavoury incident, when he acted badly or lashed out against another player or against a referee, or made a rash declaration. Nothing. He always behaved in an exemplary manner. Nobody could imagine him being conspiratorial. He imbues a certain kind of purity and innocence. How somebody like that can reach the top is a very striking element about his career."

After departing the stage at Barcelona in 2018, Iniesta has chosen Japan for his latest adventure. No other international player—in a country that has hosted the likes of Zico, Diego Forlan and Spain's greatest striker David Villa, an erstwhile team-mate of Iniesta's at Vissel Kobe—has had as profound an impact on the J1 League as Iniesta, argues Sean Carroll, who has been covering Japanese football locally for over a decade. 

"Iniesta's arrival was bigger than that of other international players because he's one of the best players of his generation," says Carroll. "Some of the other stars who turned up were winding down their careers. He's obviously not as young as he once was, but to pick up a player that famous who had achieved as much as he had—direct from Barcelona—was a massive thing for everyone in Japanese football.  

"And he has delivered. He still dominates games, controlling the tempo. You can see he's a cut above the rest of the players he's playing against. He won the Emperor's Cup on New Year's Day this year. That meant that Vissel Kobe qualified for the Asian Champions League. That's what it's all about for the club's owners, Rakuten. It was the first major trophy the club had ever won."

Football in Japan has been suspended because of the coronavirus crisis, as it has elsewhere around the globe, but if and when it resumes, don't discount Iniesta—who celebrates his 36th birthday on May 11—adding to his trophy haul. We can't wait to see him renewing his love affair with the ball.  

     

Follow Richard on Twitter: @Richard_Fitz