Barcelona: The war for Lionel Messi lurches toward mutual destruction

Lionel Messi has “decided” to stay in Barcelona. The war between individual greatness and authoritarian collectivism at the club claims its first casualty.

Last week, I described in a column that the battle between Lionel Messi and Barça’s president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, was part of a more significant titanic struggle.

Their fight symbolized a much larger war within the Catalan club, culture, and politics being played out throughout the world.

The conflict centered around the greatness on the pitch of one man, Lionel Messi, the most brilliant football player of our generation, against the Blaugrana’s president, who has twisted the idea of “Mes que un club”  into an authoritarian regime designed only to feed itself.

In the most poignant interview in the recent memory of football, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner outlined his decision to stay at Barça and the internal conflict of value prioritization that led to his final “choice.”

In my latest piece, I outlined how, if I were Bartomeu, would approach the estranged superstar.

Leo’s comments in the interview revealed that he was the first significant casualty of the ideological war within Barcelona. He painted a picture of an individual that had been crushed and broken by the collective.

It seems that the club dictator/president took my advice while talking with Messi’s father and agent, Jorge, but for all the wrong reasons and virtues.

FCB president Bartomeu was not trying to make a deal. He was trying to destroy everything that Lionel Messi stood for.

He was crushing personal achievement and greatness.