Why Lionel Messi Leaving Barcelona Would Hurt You More Than a Breakup?

They say penning down your thoughts at times of hard times, help you realize things and move on. People may prefer different ways, means or mechanisms to deal with heartbreaks and I, over the years have used writing as a way of getting over tough times.

We’ve all gone through many heart breaks over our time. From teenage crushes to serious relationships in our 20’s, we’ve all been in love and some of us have gone through heart breaks too. Trust me it’s not the greatest feeling one could possibly have and at times you may feel like you’re never getting over that one person who made you feel special. The truth is, if you work on yourself, understand what went wrong and get a bit of clarity on what has happened, with time people can move on.

Having said that, there are certain things in life that you will always fail to move on from. Sadly I'm gonna take you through one such heartbreak of mine - “The epic break up of Lionel Andres Messi leaving Football Club Barcelona”.

Messi and Barcelona

Wasn’t that the perfect marriage? The Perfect love affair?

Everybody loved the combination. Even some sections of their eternal rivals, haters admired what this bond meant. It was a beautiful story of two people meeting at their young ages, helping each other, making each other and taking each other to be the best versions of themselves. 21 years at Barcelona, Lionel Messi was their king and Barcelona built a kingdom of footballing glory around him. There were definitely ups and downs but every time they took matters to the pitch, it was 90 minutes of football and art worth celebrating. For Asian football fans such as ourselves, watching them was the purest form of joy in our lives. We stay up till midnight and watch 38 league games for a year with no complaints whatsoever. Some nights were indeed epic, giving goosebumps to even think of 90,000 fans at Europe's Largest Football Stadium chanting “Messi- Messi- Messi” and bowing down to the king.

But at an unexpected time, it’s all going to come to an end. Yes, both of them recently had a few hiccups but then again it wouldn’t be a love affair if they didn't have the occasional quarrels and disagreements. But just at a time when they seem to be finding that spark once again, things went south and went down really fast. Now we fans want to move on from this. Because right now, it seems like there’s no way that they are going to patch things up. But let me give you a few reasons why it’s going to be eternally hard for us to move on from this.

They both wanted to be together but due to “economic and structural” reasons they can’t be together

Most times breakups involve at least one or both parties who want to leave the relationship. Might be a case of one person in the relationship finding new love elsewhere, or they are simply tired of fighting and trying so hard to work on the relationship. There’s also the odd case where the external environment does not allow them to be together. Be it your parents, siblings or even friends, when you don’t get approval it makes life difficult in a relationship.

Messi wants Barcelona and Barcelona wants Messi. But unfortunately, due to the existing financial fair play regulations imposed by the Spanish football federation, they won’t be able to continue. It’s unfair by all means and painful truth to admit. But it is what it is.

A couple would always have the option of running away. But unfortunately for Barcelona and Messi, that’s not a viable option.

21 years of love

2 decades of memories and love. If you think getting over a 5-year-old relationship is easy, try 21 years. Added to that we are not talking of some regular time spent between two people.

“672 goals, 34 trophies, 6 Ballon d’Or” - This is what 21 years of Messi and Barcelona gave us.

We had the GOAT and we never appreciated it enough

Imagine dating and having the privilege of being with the GOAT(Greatest of All-time) of girlfriends/boyfriends. You know they are simply the best you could ask for and there’s no one better.
Apart from a very unrealistic fanbase, the majority of fans of football agree with the fact that Messi is the GOAT in football. He’s in the same category as the great Roger Federer, Usain Bolt, Michael Jordan, Michael Phelps etc. The fact that you’re going to lose him is something that’s going to be in our minds for the rest of the years to come.

We had the GOAT with us and now we’ve lost him. You can most certainly replace him with a new great partner. But it’s going to be difficult to look past Leo Messi.

Social Media will remind you that the pain is real

Once two people are broken up, you need little reminders of the horrors that have happened. Occasionally the topic may arise when two friends are having a chat. But these are unspoken matters out in the open. The less public attraction you’re going to get, the easier it is for you to move on.

But my friends, we are talking about the breakup of the year. Could anyone have ever pictured Messi wearing a different t-shirt other than the famous Barcelona colours? Well, it’s happening now and social media will be there to remind you every step of the way. The Facebook and Instagram news feed is going to be full of pain and everyone will talk of it. Currently, as I pen these thoughts the news of Messi leaving Barcelona has broken the internet and in less than 24 hours of breaking the news, it is one of the most tweeted current events. (3.3 million #Messi tweets for the last 12 hours)

Rest be assured, this is going to stay. People will remind you and you’ve got to be emotionally strong to handle that kind of daily dose of pain on social media.

Possibility of Messi making a new affair in the City of Love

Imagine you being with someone for so long and overnight having to see them with someone else. All the attention, love and affection to be received by someone else. And to make things worse, imagine if the new affair was carried out in Paris - the most romantic city of all.

Well, Lionel Messi is currently in the process of making a jaw-dropping move to Paris Saint Germans (PSG). It’ll hit us most hard when you see Messi wearing the PSG kit. It Will be dead weird but then again that is the harsh reality. And it is said that PSG will unveil Lionel Messi as a PSG player at the most famous Eiffel Tower. I’m sure these pictures will send a danger through any old lover's heart.

It’s weird. Definitely weird how things played out. But at the most unprecedented times, we have to expect the unexpected. We cling to many things in life, take things for granted expecting things to stay with us forever. But the reality is, difficult and unavoidable circumstances test us and if we come short, people will have to go their separate ways. And when that heartbreak happens, you got to be strong enough to get through the rough seas and stand up on your feet.

Having said that this is probably one of the toughest breakups we will have to go through. One that will be written in the history books for many many years to come.

Cheers to 21 years of Lionel Messi at Barcelona.
Thank you for giving us joy and countless memories to cherish.

PS - This article is not intended to offend any individual going through any hard times. Tough times don’t last but tough people do.