Back in early August, I took little notice when the news started to emerge that Lionel Messi might genuinely leave Barcelona. I expected the whole thing to blow over – he’d stay at the Camp Nou, just like 12 months earlier. Footballers play for power all the time. Why would this situation be any different?
But this was different. Messi didn’t want to leave Barça. They didn’t want to lose Messi. And yet, all parties had no other choice; unable to afford him any longer, he was left with no alternative but to exit on the priciest of freebies.