Messi’s 'transfer' and the speculation machine
Lionel Messi's future destination may be making headlines all around the globe, but the latest transfer saga in the world of football has followed the same half-baked pattern of transfer sagas in the past.
While tabloids have long been masters of preparing loosely-sourced stories linking any player that shows a hint of promise to the biggest clubs in the world, the discourse has devolved into a circus in recent years with social media front and centre.
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Throughout most of the season, but especially ahead of the transfer window, stories, regardless of how credible they may be, gather immense traction. It has become a booming market of its own, with individuals and groups dedicated to monitoring and announcing moves players are supposedly making before they are announced by the clubs themselves.
People have always enjoyed, rightly or wrongly, speculating about where players could end up and the effect it may have. But in the information age, facts are easily distorted and you can find a source to back up almost any claim you make. You only have to look long enough to find the angle that suits you best.
In the past few months, Messi has been confirmed by various sources to have completed deals with Inter Miami, FC Barcelona and Al Hilal.
With hindsight, a revealing example of speculation taking a life of its own is the Neymar saga of 2017. There were widespread reports that the Brazilian would activate a 222-million-euro buyout clause and leave for Paris Saint Germain while conflicting reports also abounded about his desire to stay in Barcelona.
New pieces of "information" would be revealed every day, from inane details about PSG's Qatari-backed owners offering him the use of a private jet, to "articles" that were based around his WhatsApp conversations with his teammates, which, of course, had no way of being authenticated.
The prolonged drama also saw one of Barcelona's senior-most players take to Twitter as Gerard Pique shared a snapshot alongside Neymar accompanied by the caption: "Se queda (He stays)." Within days of that photo, Neymar was in a PSG shirt. He did not stay.
But it is no longer tabloids, click baiters and friends that succumb to the irresistible urge to "break" stories of such magnitude.
That was clear when one of the most respected news agencies in the world quoted "sources close to deal" who had said that Messi's move to Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal was a "done deal". Within hours of that report, Messi's father Jorge denounced the story, claiming that any deal was out of the question until the end of his son's contract with Paris Saint Germain.
There is certainly a stark difference between weighing up options and arriving at a "done deal", although that may have referred to a verbal agreement, which, in the football world, is nothing concrete.
The only fact is that nobody knows what is going on inside Messi's head. Whether Pique, who had a close personal relationship with Neymar, was misdirected or had misunderstood is only part of the question. The other, the part that is always ignored, is that these players are as human as the rest of us, with emotions and ambitions that are malleable.
Fans will always remember the haunting image of Messi struggling to hold back the tears as he announced, not too long after the realisation had dawned on him, that he would be leaving what he described as 'the team of his life'. Cules all over are still hopeful that the Argentine will return and they point to his (and his father's) refusal to shut down rumours linking him to the Nou Camp as a sign of his willingness to do so.
But is it not equally natural that a 35-year-old would want to make the most of the final big contract of his career?
According to Forbes, Messi has earned $1.15 billion during his career on-and-off the field. If the offer from Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal reaches anywhere near the 400-million-euro mark that is being touted, it gives the Argentine an opportunity to effectively double his net worth -- something that he has spent a better part of two decades building up -- in just two years.
It would be hard for anyone, even those in possession of generational wealth, to take a deal worth maybe 10-15 million euros instead. The disparity in income will also be more pronounced after taxes, with Catalonia having a 49 per cent tax rate for the highest earners and Saudi Arabia having no income tax at all.
Amidst crude views that twist transfers into themes of betrayal or greed, it would be better not to judge someone in such a delicate position and instead accept whatever choice they make. As for the frenzy of speculation, those who followed Messi's sensational departure from Barcelona will be well aware that rumours will continue to fly, but equally secure in the knowledge that nothing is decided until the ink is dry.
Samama Rahman is a sub-editor in the sports section at The Daily Star.
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