Lionel Messi Should Join Sheffield Wednesday

The biggest news in the sports world (and possibly the entire world) is that Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest active soccer player, apparently wants to leave Barcelona. Already, there are rumors that some of the biggest European clubs like Manchester City, Manchester United, Juventus, and Paris Saint-Germain are interested. And sure if Messi wants to leave Barcelona, it makes sense for him to go to one of these clubs where he'll make millions of dollars, have the opportunity to win the Champions League, and continue to get major media coverage. However, after having so much individual and team success at Barcelona, perhaps Messi wants a brand new challenge. And that's why I think he should play for Sheffield Wednesday!

Look, I know what you're thinking. There is as good a chance of me, a guy who barely played on my below average high school soccer team, um, several years ago, playing for Sheffield Wednesday as Messi playing for the Owls. And you're totally right. But why would that stop me from writing a blog post where I can speculate it happening? I mean not many people know this, but LeBron James was so inspired by my blog post that he almost played basketball in Pittsburgh a decade ago.

So why do I think Messi should join Sheffield Wednesday? Well, SWFC definitely needs a proven goal scorer. As for what's in it for Messi, he could be the guy who leads Wednesday back to the Premier League for the first time in 20 years. You might think that this shouldn't be a challenge for one of the best players in the world regardless of the rest of the roster. However, Wednesday is also starting this season at a disadvantage getting a 12-point deduction for some shady financial bookkeeping. Basically, the season will start with 23 teams tied with 0 points and Wednesday in 24th place with -12 points. Messi never faced this type of adversity at Barcelona, and he likely wouldn't have this type of challenge again. 

It's all going to come down to money though, right? Well, from the ESPN story linked above "Reports from Argentina claim Messi believes a clause in the contract should oblige Barcelona to let him leave for free." That's fantastic since Wednesday could never afford the likely millions of dollars in transfer fees. But what about the salary? Messi makes approximately $80 million at Barcelona. Wednesday doesn't have that kind of money, and who knows that kind of ticket revenue there may be for the 2020-2021 season thanks for COVID-19. Well, maybe Messi will be happy just earning a few million from Wednesday. Seriously. He makes millions and millions of dollars each year from Adidas, Pepsi, Gatorade, and others. Really, he has plenty of money. 

As for his quality of life, I liked Sheffield from the 3 hours I spent there 20 years ago. Plus, the cost of living has to be lower than Barcelona. Maybe things will be a little quieter for him in Sheffield. People will just leave him alone to live his life. Maybe? Besides, it looks like there are plenty of fun things he and his family can do.

Again, I know that this isn't going to happen, but I can dream. (And it gives me some blog content today!)

UPDATE: So, um, never mind. According to Steven Goff in The Washington Post, "The release clause — the amount a suitor would have to pay Barcelona for Messi’s rights because he is under contract until next summer — is $835 million, though such astronomical figures are deterrents more than anything else." Wednesday doesn't have that kind of money.

Photo of Messi by Joan Monfort/AP.