“Messi, Messi, Messi! ” The clock had just displayed ten minutes of play, during the match between FC Barcelona and Real Sociedad (4-2), Sunday, August 15, when Camp Nou began chanting the name of Lionel Messi. The Argentinian was not on the pitch, however, or even in Barcelona. The day before, he had been presented to a Parisian audience in a trance at the Parc des Princes, before the PSG match against Strasbourg.
Ten days ago, however, the supporters present in the Barcelona stadium thought they would find their Argentine genius for this meeting against Real Sociedad, the first league match open to the public since March 7, 2020.
👥 Avui som 20.384 espectadors al Camp Nou 👏 # BarçaRealSociedad https://t.co/YSVUTDldoA
This was before a laconic statement from the management of the Catalan club, on August 5, changed everything: “Leo Messi will no longer be linked to FC Barcelona. (…) Barça would like to warmly thank the player for everything he has brought to the institution and wish him the best in his personal and professional life. “
“People were in the misunderstanding”, remembers Antoni Guil, president of the World Confederation of Penyes, these groups of supporters of the Blaugrana club. A few days earlier, the president, Joan Laporta, had indeed assured that the negotiations between the two parties were well advanced, a year after having succeeded in retaining the Argentinian. “We had the impression that Messi was going to continue with Barcelona, continues Antoni Guil. This announcement took us all by surprise. We did not understand the process that led to his departure. “
According to Joan Laporta, the president of Barça elected in March, it is the catastrophic economic toll left by the previous management, which forced the Barcelona club to let go of its jewel: “I could not mortgage the future of the club, the institution is above everything, even the best player in the world”, he defended himself at a press conference.
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Messi everywhere
Seventeen seasons, 778 games and 672 goals later, here are the Barcelona supporters orphans of the greatest player in their history. And it may be very difficult for them to forget it.
Because beyond all the memories he has left over the years, it is difficult to escape the Argentinian in the Catalan capital. If, at Camp Nou, the portrait of the “Pulga” was withdrawn on August 10, it is still found in advertising effigy here and there in the city.
On the Plaça d’Espanya, he invites tourists to go to the Barça museum, the most frequented in Catalonia, in front of those of Dalí and Picasso. In a large club shop, located on the Ramblas, it is still a huge portrait of Leo Messi chambering the Madrid public, after a winning goal scored in the stoppage time of a “Clasico” against Real Madrid in 2017, which welcomes visitors. In the one in front of the Camp Nou, we can see a Messi haranguing the Blaugrana supporters after the 6-1 victory against PSG, in the Champions League, in 2017.
Shirts flocked to his name are always available and well displayed in the club’s shops. As Marc Ciria, specialist in the economy of Barça, explains to the Catalan sports daily Sport, eight jerseys sold out of ten were flocked with Messi’s name before his departure, or 20 to 30 million euros income per year.
“Gràcies Messi”
Near the Sagrada Familia, Carla, a saleswoman in one of the club’s shops, assures us that the announcement of Messi’s departure has boosted sales: “People want the last, she explains. It’s a memory. “ “Friends told us to bring them one”, adds Juan, a Salvadoran who came with his family, and left with several swimsuits.
Of course, this is not the case everywhere. Cristina explains that in her shop located in front of the Camp Nou, sales of Messi’s shirts have fallen by around 50% in recent days. Five or six people even came to the store to ask for a refund, says the manager. Still, Messi is still the most requested flocking, far ahead of Memphis Depay, the flagship rookie of the offseason. “People come here to buy Messi jerseys”, she sums up.
This is also the first time that Kiko, socio since 1982, has offered a jersey in his name. The “Gràcies Messi” (“Thank you Messi”, in Catalan) that he flocked on the back, above number 10 of La Pulga is the best example of the feeling that lives in Barcelona today. “I am sad but grateful. Sad because the best player in history is leaving us. But grateful, because he gave us the best years of our life. In forty years, people will continue to talk about him. “
A future in suspense
If Lionel Messi can still sell shirts for a few weeks, Barça can no longer count on him to attract people to the stadium. While it can accommodate up to 99,000 people, Camp Nou is rarely full. Its occupancy rate was below 75%, before the pandemic, with more than 70,000 spectators at each meeting.
Against Real Sociedad, Sunday, the socios have not really responded present. The 20,333 places that were initially reserved for them, before the tonnage was finally reduced, did not all find takers. Only 15,280 had registered for a potential draw. The rest was finally completed by other supporters and passing tourists. 20,384 people were finally present in the aisles for this first match open to the public since the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, Antoni Guil, of the World Confederation of Penyes, calls not to overinterpret these absences: “Obviously, the departure of Lionel Messi plays a role. But, we are in the middle of August: people want a vacation and they put that before FC Barcelona. Above all, I think that the pandemic and the health situation continue to generate some fear, even today. “ Especially since, as Raimon, socio himself, reminds us, most of them are elderly and therefore at risk.
For everyone, it is clear that this should not be seen as signs of Barça’s disaffection. “Barça is 122 years old, recalls Antoni Guil. He has already overcome many hardships in all these years. It was probably his best years, but FC Barcelona is a club that is not limited to Messi. “
