Lionel Messi and some reasonable doubts for Barca to have

Big decisions are often accompanied by a feeling of paralysis. Especially when high-voltage emotions are in play. Messi's return cannot be separated from this sentimental framework. Nostalgia is a powerful weapon and it must be very difficult for Laporta to give up on the possibility of bringing Messi back or projecting himself in that young and full of energy 'Jan' of his first term. It is legitimate but it contradicts the story of reconstruction that the club has been selling in recent years. 

The sporting management has worked - and made decisions - with the post-Messi Barça in mind, only to end up bringing back the Argentine two seasons later. That is why it is not surprising that Mateu Alemany was not in favour of his return. It is clear to no one that, for better or worse, there is no other player who conditions a team as much as the current Messi. This explains Argentina's success: an entire team committed to one player for a short period of time, making an unsustainable effort for an entire season. 

Xavi's Barça 

Can today's Barça offer such a context? To begin with, the growth of Xavi's side has been based on defensive consistency. A solidity that can only be understood by the habits of the whole team: high pressing that includes the forwards and defensive work in which the whole team is involved. 

Messi's arrival would also have a collateral effect: the club's bets for the future such as Ansu (20 years old), Ferran Torres (23) and Raphinha (26) would be compromised by the arrival of a player who turns 36 in June. His arrival would sentence some of the club's big economic bets, would affect the current role of players who are the flagship of the team and would force the club to postpone signings that the sporting management was planning for this summer.