Lionel Messi leaving Barca is not just a footballer leaving a certain club. The world’s best player is on the verge of signing with another team, his only second in Europe, after arriving from Argentina and his move this is having a massive implications for a number of people (and tams), not only the three parties involved. So, who are the winners and losers in this situation?Departing Messi to give press conference Sunday at Camp NouWinner: Any club which signs Messi. It is almost certain that PSG will be that club, but until we see the Argentinian in Paris, nothing is 100% certain. Just after PSG owner’s brother confirmed on Twitter that negotiations are over, there were reports that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic requested an urgent meeting with Messi. But whoever ends up with Messi is a huge winner, and an instant Champions League favorite. Not to mention the financial gain for having the best player on the planet on board.Winner: Any league where Messi ends up. Within the Top 5 European leagues, Ligue 1 is the weakest one, and now, the football fans in France will have a chance to see Messi in their town, if he signs for PSG. The supporters will fill out the stadiums, TV rights will be higher, which will reflect on the club’s budgets. Everyone’s a winner in France.Winner: Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid. Barca’s biggest rivals are probably still pinching themselves with the news that Leo has left Spain. Barcelona will surely buy some players before the end of this transfer window, but let’s face it: they are not favorites to win La Liga. This year, it will be a two horse race between two Madrid clubs.PSG owner’s brother confirms: Messi will signWinner/Loser: Lionel Messi. After he agreed to sign a contract with Barcelona and lower his wage up to 50%, the Argentinian will now earn a bigger contract elsewhere. If he signs for PSG, he will play with a lot of his friends (Neymar, Di Maria…) and will have a new challenge, and a chance to win another Champions League before he moves to USA. On the other hand, he is leaving the only club he ever played for, and will have to unsettle his family with a move to Paris. He will switch La Liga with a far weaker Ligue 1 and there are a number of fans who are thinking that he earned enough money from Barca that maybe he should have accepted anything just to stay at Nou Camp. Not to mention that he will sign for Barca’s enemies PSG…Loser: Barcelona. They will save a lot of money with Messi’s departure, that is true, but Leo’s impact in Barca can hardly be exaggerated. We are talking about the best player in the world and club’s legend. According to estimations by a group of economists, Messi cost Barcelona 383 million euros over the last three years of his contract, but generated some 620 million euros in revenue. All of that will be gone now. Not to mention that the Catalonians are not title contenders now. Nobody expected this, which means that they don’t have at least a decent replacement lined up to recover the Messi blow.Manchester City are out of the race to sign Messi before they’d even entered it, but PSG are working on itLoser: Kun Aguero. Messi was the main reason why the Argentinian decided to sign with Barcelona and accept a huge pay cut, just to be able to play alongside his long time friend. According to reports, Aguero was furious and instructed his lawyers to see if he can somehow get out of his two year contract. This reports were denied by Aguero’s ‘entourage’, but the fact remains: the Argentinian is not happy, as he lost both Messi and money.Loser: Antoine Griezmann. Not only the Frenchman will now have to ‘carry the load’ for Barca, but he is already a target of abuse by many Barcelona fans, who think that it was impossible to sign Messi, due to Griezmann’s high salary. He was met with a number of fans upon his arrival at the Joan Gamper Sports City complex. These fans then shouted abuse at the French international’s car, blaming him for Messi leaving. “He has left because of you” they shouted. Loser: La Liga. Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Ramos, Messi… the list of superstars who left Spain or retired in recent years is longer and longer, and it’s not looking good for the status of the league and the revenue too.
