Barcelona Rumors: Lionel Messi May Leave Camp Nou Due To Real Madrid’s Success

Lionel Messi may be considering leaving Barcelona partly because of Real Madrid’s success, a Spanish newspaper has suggested.

With rumors of Messi leaving Barcelona spreading in recent weeks, there have been a lot of speculations as to why the Barcelona captain wanted to end his ties with the Catalan club. Another possible reason has now emerged.

According to a report from Spanish newspaper Diaro GOL (translated by Everything Barca), Barcelona’s ultimate La Liga rival, Real Madrid, may have played a role in Messi’s decision to leave Camp Nou. The report suggested that Madrid’s evident success in the last decade might be one of the reasons why the Barcelona star would want to consider parting ways with the Catalans in 2021.

Apparently, Madrid has been consistent in making the right decisions for the club in the past few years. By contrast, Barca has failed to build a talented team around Messi since the departure of Neymar.

Since Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu’s arrival, the Catalans have made over 20 signings. However, most of the signings have been expensive flops or unnecessary additions. Players like Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele and former Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann, were all tipped to become Barca’s future superstars, but all of them failed to deliver.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, has evolved from the traditional style of buying players in their prime for staggering amounts of money to signing young talents and building a team from them. Some of the notable signings they have made who have been exceptional thus far are Eder Militao, Vinicius Junior, Luka Jovic and Rodrygo.

As for picking the players to let go, Los Blancos have also managed to make the right decisions. After the club sold Alvaro Morata to Chelsea for £60 million ($75 million), the player has never been able to reach his best form since his departure from the Bernabeu.

Some may not agree, but even the selling of then-33-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus via a massive deal turned out to be a wise move as well. In return, Madrid signed Eden Hazard from Chelsea, and he has played extremely well for the club.

Meanwhile, Messi and Barcelona continue to fight for La Liga supremacy as the league approaches the final games of the season. Barcelona's 1-0 win over Real Valladolid on Saturday saw the 33-year-old becoming the first player to provide 20 assists in Spain's top flight since Xavi Hernandez in 2009.