La Liga

A few weeks ago, a physiotherapist called to the house of one of La Liga's stars for a treatment session. As detailed by El Mundo, the physio was stopped at the door by the player's wife: without evidence of a negative coronavirus COVID-19 test, the physio wasn't going to be let inside their house; she didn't want her children to be put at risk. 

Professional football in Spain is at a crossroads. Having suspended La Liga—after an Eibar vs. Real Sociedad game on 10 March—there are plans afoot to restart the league on one of three dates: May 29, June 6 or June 28 (with a view to finishing the league by the end of July, ideally leaving August free to conclude UEFA's European club competitions).

Not everyone agrees that it should go ahead, however. While other leagues, including England, Germany and Italy have roadmaps for a return of football, the remainder of the 2019-2020 season in the Netherlands, for example, has been cancelled.

"The problem is that the Spanish football industry badly needs the return of league football for financial reasons," says Kike Mateu, a journalist with Las Provincias, who contracted the virus while reporting on the UEFA Champions League match between Atalanta and Valencia at the San Siro in February but is now happily recovered. 

"If the season is cancelled, there's millions of euros, particularly with television rights' income, that will be lost. Football clubs need the league to return to action, but if you talk to footballers, some don't want to return to play. They want to wait, sit out the summer, and go back playing in September—like in Holland—when it will be safer.

"At the end of the day, premier division footballers are big stars, they're not like the rest of us who need to work. They feel a lot safer in their houses, so many of them would prefer not to play, but there is a lot of people interested in the return of football for money reasons. This has created an open conflict between the league and the players." 

There's a lot of cash on the line. According to Javier Tebas, president of La Liga, as much as €1 billion will be lost if the league doesn't finish its season. There are few—if any—countries in the world where football is as important to the economy as in Spain. It is estimated that the sport accounts for 1.37 per cent of GDP (and almost 200,000 jobs).

The stakes are high. Spain has suffered well over 20,000 deaths from the coronavirus, which is the third-highest death toll in the world behind the United States and Italy. Several prominent players and coaches have voiced their concerns about a premature return to play. They include Gerard Moreno, Villarreal's Spanish international striker, who said last week in an interview with EFE (h/t El Desmarque): "When you see the daily rate of deaths and contagions, it doesn't enter my mind to return playing. Thinking about [it] is inappropriate."

"I think that the players' concerns are totally understandable in terms of their own safety," says Damia, a former Barcelona footballer who works as a coach with the Catalan football federation, "but they will never have 100 per cent guarantees that it's safe to go training and back playing matches [until there is a vaccine]. Their concerns are valid, but as long as all the protocols for a return to training are controlled, the players shouldn't be too worried. It's my opinion.

"My feeling is that in general footballers want to return if the safety precautions are OK. Most—if not all—of them have had their salaries reduced. A football career is short. Of course they're not going to be happy because the circumstances will be a lot different than they were two months ago, but they will want to finish the season, and hopefully start next season in September in different conditions." 

"I understand [their worries]," adds Luis Miguel Ramis, a former Real Madrid player, who guided Albacete into the playoffs for promotion to the premier division last season. "We're all scared—not just the footballers, especially with the children in our families.

"There are measures you should take to avoid infection. ... The security measures that La Liga proposes should give us enough confidence to return to training. If a footballer doesn't want to train because he's afraid—even when the situation gets better—he'll have to talk to his club about it or leave it. You can't force anyone.  

"The fear we all have will disappear little by little while the situation continues to get better, but I understand that players are asking for the maximum level of security possible—not only for themselves, but for the clubs' employees, coaching staff, for their families. We just need to wait a bit longer for things to improve."

The details of La Liga's protocols for a return to training—which ideally would continue for a month before matches resumed—are meticulous. They consist of four stages. The preliminary stage would be testing: to test for the virus and to see the level of immunity built up by some of the players.

Several premier division squads, for instance, have players who tested positive for the virus in March, including Alaves, Espanyol and Valencia. Players would receive daily serology and antibody tests. If a player tests positive, he will be isolated. 

Training would resume in three phases: two weeks of individual training, where training times would be staggered so there would be a maximum of six players on a pitch at any one time. No more than two players would be allowed in the gym at the same time.

Coaching staff would have to wear gloves and face masks, while players would also be required to do so until they get onto the pitch. After training, they would go straight home to shower, bringing with them the gear required for the following day's training in sealed, biodegradable bags.

This would be followed by a phase of small group sessions before the final phase of full-squad sessions. During these phases, players wouldn't be allowed to return home—they'd be cocooned at their club's training ground, residency or a nearby hotel. There would be no communal social areas—as is common, for example, at pre-season training camps. Players would have to return to their rooms after each training session.

There is also a loose end to tie up before returning to training. Over the last few days, agents have been unable to answer a recurring question from their players: are their lungs (and future playing careers) at risk, as scientific studies from Hong Kong and Wuhan have detected loss of up to 30 per cent in some recovered coronavirus patients?

Matchday protocol has yet to be agreed too. According to Rafael Ramos, president of the Spanish Association for Football Team Doctors, footballs and playing surfaces would have to be sterilised before games, at half-time and after matches. There would be at least a 72-hour gap between games.

Matches would also be played behind doors. In fact, Tebas has hinted that it is unlikely there will be fans at La Liga's games again until 2021. Inevitably, the thought of playing games without fans will take from the experience—although some fans are trying to be philosophical about this imposition.

"If games have to be played without fans, so be it," says David Gonzalez, a season ticket holder at Atletico Madrid and president of Atletica Mostoles, one of Atletico's supporters' club.

"Obviously the first thing we have to think about is people's health. Until they find a very good way to manage this virus—like a card to prove you've immunity—or a vaccine, it will be very difficult to have games with fans in the terraces. 

"Of course, it would be very strange to see games on television in front of the empty stadiums—if that happens, but it would be a small step forward towards some degree of normality returning. It'd be better than nothing."

Footballers, too, would find it odd. There is an adrenaline rush that comes from playing in front of 50,000 manic fans and the feeling of scoring a goal in a packed stadium like the Camp Nou or, say, Valencia's fabled Mestalla with its steeply elevated stands.

"I remember when I played with Real Betis our stadium was closed for a few games [in 2007]," says Damia. "We had to play [Sevilla] at Getafe's stadium, as a neutral venue, and it was horrible. It's not the same at all for players. The pressure is not there. Your motivation drops. It's so strange.

"You lose the advantage of the support you get from a home crowd. You're not screaming at each other. You can really feel the difference in the atmosphere. Professional football has been built for something, and the main thing is the show—the spectacle. When you can see the whole stadium is empty, it's just sad." 

If the season is concluded over the summer, Real Madrid will likely play their home games at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium—which is at their Valdebebas training facility on the outskirts of Madrid—to facilitate construction works at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. 

Real Madrid's reserve team, Castilla, normally plays at the 6,000-seater stadium, which uses the same grass as the Bernabeu and has the same pitch dimensions, too.

"Not to play in front of your fans will be a problem for everybody," says Ramis, who is a former manager of the Castilla side. "In the case of Real Madrid, it will be the same. It will be a drawback for home games. When the Bernabeu is full of madridistas, it's a very intimidating place to play.

"If stadiums can't have fans, though, it makes sense for Real Madrid not to play at the Bernabeu—not only to facilitate the renovations that will be happening at the Bernabeu, but because of the greater expenses that comes with opening a bigger stadium when fans won't be allowed to come in anyway.

"The Di Stefano Stadium has perfect dimensions. It's more protected and isolated from a hygiene point of view. The players will feel more comfortable playing there than in a big stadium that is empty. It seems a good idea to me." 

For now, things are up in the air. In his daily coronavirus briefing on Sunday, Spain's health minister Salvador Illa sounded a pessimistic note, saying: "I cannot say now if professional football will be able to restart before the summer. It would be reckless of me."

La Liga's plans to use daily coronavirus testing kits—which requires government approval—have been criticised by Spain's players' association, AFE, which argues there is a greater need for the tests to be used elsewhere in Spain to fight the pandemic.

It is a sentiment that has been echoed by a statement from players at Racing Santander who believe it would be "unethical" to put footballers before healthcare workers on the frontline when there are testing kit shortages.

As it stands, if the 2019-20 season is annulled, La Liga would be free to explore alternatives—to be decided by the Royal Spanish Football Federation and rubber-stamped by UEFA—about how best to decide the results of the season, which includes an option for "playoffs" to decide who would fill the league's UEFA Champions League qualifying slots. 

If and when La Liga returns, it will, however, provide a huge morale boost for people—whether it's in the summer, September or even later—as football is part of the lifeblood in Spain.   

"Football carries a weight and significance that is huge for society here," says Mateu. "You don't find Spanish people buying a T-shirt for a museum or merchandising for a cinema, but every football fan buys a shirt for his or her team—no matter how much it costs. Nobody stops having dinner or lunch here because they're going to a concert, but in Spain a lot of people won't eat their dinner if their team loses.

"Football for a lot of Spanish people isn't a sport or a business, it's a feeling. Just like it is in, say, in England—except it's all week, not just at weekends. This is why it's so important that football returns, not only because it's a distraction from people's problems, and this coronavirus, but because people feel like their football club belongs to them."

                

Follow Richard on Twitter: @Richard_Fitz

One of the world's top defenders in the late '90s, Carlos Gamarra witnessed Ronaldinho's rise to fame in Brazil but was never actually what you may call a close friend. Yet, when he heard that the former Barcelona player had been thrown behind bars in Asuncion, the Paraguayan legend felt compelled to pay him a visit out of respect.

Gamarra spent a whole morning with Ronaldinho inside the country's maximum-security Agrupacion Especializada jail. That day, a particular image stuck with him.

"Honestly, I was impressed by the number of children surrounding him, asking for pictures, autographs. We all know he's a global star, but that really surprised me," he says.

Ronaldinho and his older brother and manager, Roberto de Assis, were incarcerated on March 6, on suspicion of using fake passports to enter the country. Every day, groups of kids would gather in front of the complex hoping to be allowed in and get a selfie with the Brazilian, even though most of them would be too young to remember the famous No. 10's World Cup win in 2002 or his Ballon d'Or triumph in 2005. 

During Ronaldinho's first week or so in prison, prison warden Blas Veras even organised what was jokingly referred to as "Ronaldinho's mini-tour," so the young fans could meet him for a brief moment at the outside patio of prison. 

"With the coronavirus crisis, I couldn't do that anymore. It was a shame. Ronaldinho enjoyed having them around," he explains.

The man who ruled football with a wide, buck-toothed grin before the emergence of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo remains a popular figure, despite having officially retired in 2018.

However, when he turned 40 in March, the celebrations consisted of just him, his brother and a cake brought by one of his lawyers into his small Paraguayan cell. 

It's fair to assume that this was not what the renowned party-goer Ronaldinho would have had in mind for such an occasion.

At that point, the Brazil wizard was supposed to be receiving tributes from the football world.

Instead, in his own homeland, the biggest TV network, Globo, was holding discussions on whether to cancel a three-episode special of his career that had cost them months of production time. Eventually, they decided to go ahead with it.

Meanwhile, Ronaldinho tried to maintain a routine in prison.

Inmates at Agrupacion Especializada jail have to deal with mosquitos from a nearby river and the risk of getting dengue fever, while one of the three prison blocks houses dangerous criminals.

However, Ronaldinho spent most of his time in another area with 25 inmates and, among other privileges, had a TV in his cell. According to Globosport, he watched Atletico Madrid's 3-2 win over Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League from his cell.

In total, Ronaldinho was in prison for 32 days.

Last week, following his lawyers' fourth request, a Paraguayan judge finally decided to release him from jail into house arrest after he and his brother paid $1.6 million in bail and agreed not to leave the country.

The judge relayed his ruling to them in a WhatsApp video call. At the end of it, wearing his traditional black beret, Ronaldinho just gave him the "hang loose" sign and smiled.

Ronaldinho and his brother Roberto Assis were given their court hearing by a judge via a video call (🎥 @edgar_cantero) https://t.co/y5hGCRL7q1

— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 8, 2020

Since then, he has been staying at the Palmaroga hotel, which has an average rate of about $64 per night, in central Asuncion, just three kilometres away from the penitentiary where he was imprisoned for over a month. Guards have been controlling the perimeter of the building. 

How did one of the greatest players of all time end up like this?

The immediate temptation—and it's an understandable one, considering his post-retirement fame back home as the "king of the random gigs"—was to take the first pictures of him having a kickabout in prison as just another chapter in Ronaldinho's colourful story. This time, though, there was no reason to laugh. 

So far, 15 people have already been detained in the case, which began with the false passports allegedly used by Ronaldinho and his brother when entering Paraguay on March 4, but that has since snowballed into an investigation into a possible money-laundering scheme.

One of Ronaldinho's lawyers, Adolfo Marin, insisted that the Brazil icon thought he had received the passport and documents "as a gift."

"He didn't know he was committing a crime. He's daft," Marin told Folha de S. Paulo.

Such a statement might sound a bit harsh, but it's not regarded as completely inappropriate by those familiar with his inner circle.

While his incredible talent mesmerised fans and made him football's brightest star in the early 2000s, Ronaldinho never seemed in charge of his own life or aware of what was going on around him.

The fact that many of his compatriots didn't see his photo in handcuffs as a massive shock says it all about how far his prestige had sunk.

Ronaldinho having a kickabout in a Paraguayan prison. 🙌pic.twitter.com/J7qjIcjTdY

— Footy (@Footy) March 30, 2020

"He has always been so focused on playing that, when Brazil were kicked out by Cameroon from the 2000 Olympic Games, he didn't even know about the golden goal rule and stayed there looking confused, wondering what was happening," recalls Diogo Olivier, a football columnist for Zero Hora who has followed Ronaldinho for the duration of his career.

"But at some point, there's got to be a limit to all that. If you are a 40-year-old, you must realise that if you enter a foreign country with a fake passport, you are going to be detained. At such an age, you need to have some responsibility in your decisions.

"Ronaldinho has this reputation for being in the dark when it comes to off-the-pitch matters. And the worst part is that it's indeed true. He doesn't have a clue about his business.

"Ronaldinho's family built a bubble for him and said, 'You go there and play and let us handle the rest.' And he was thrown inside that bubble very early because his potential was ridiculous. So he has been there since the age of 14 and never really had to worry about anything else. I truly believe that he could not have known for sure what he was doing in Paraguay. I truly believe in it."

Throughout Ronaldinho's entire journey from a modest Porto Alegre background to stardom, it was Assis' job to make sure this bubble was never penetrated by any negativity.

A former footballer himself, the man Ronaldinho usually calls "patrao" (boss) was a breakthrough star at Gremio, having lifted the Brazilian Cup in 1989. At the time, he was seen as a future international, but instead of waiting for a call-up, he accepted a lucrative offer from Sion in Switzerland, a decision that disrupted his rise and ultimately sealed his destiny as a journeyman.

In his late 20s, playing in Japan, he was already taking care of Ronaldinho's career from afar, turning down bids from PSV Eindhoven and trying to shield his brother from the same mistakes he made. 

Assis was not just an older brother to the smiling boy. After their father died in tragic circumstances, drowning in their swimming pool, Assis became the man of the house.

The Assis Moreira family had moved into that luxurious home just a few months before their father's death. 

The house had been a reward from Gremio following Assis' decision to sign a new contract and refuse a proposal from Torino. In order to put those memories behind, Assis decided to get rid of the pool a while later. 

Having gone through all that together, it should not come as a surprise that Ronaldinho trusts Assis blindly.

The main issue, however, is that Assis also has a reputation for being greedy, which has ended up causing trouble for the FIFA 2004 and 2005 world player of the year on multiple occasions.

Despite being widely known as Ronaldinho Gaucho (an adjective used to describe those born in the Rio Grande do Sul state), Ronaldinho is far from a hero in his hometown—quite the opposite in fact. 

Quem Lembra: Em 1988 Ronaldinho Gaúcho aos 7 anos ao Lado do irmão Assis com a camisa do Torino Itália pic.twitter.com/LfTnu8TQ3B

— Memórias Do Futebol (@MemoriasFutebol) October 15, 2015

He can't even walk the streets of his hometown of Porto Alegre these days because of past rows with his boyhood club, Gremio. In both of them, Assis played a major role.

Firstly, by taking Ronaldinho to Paris Saint-Germain at the end of his contract in 2001 and leaving the Brazilian team without a single penny; and later, on Ronaldinho's return home 10 years later, when he encouraged a bidding war between Flamengo, Palmeiras and Gremio only to choose the Rio de Janeiro side in the end.

"Despite all that, Ronaldinho still sees Assis as a guy that gave up his youth to take care of his family, so there's an enormous debt of gratitude between them," Olivier argues.

"When they went through a tough time, it was Assis who tackled the problem and even retired from football earlier to take care of Ronaldinho."

Vinicius Grissi, a football pundit for Bandeirantes and 98 FM, adds: "It's difficult to say that this unconditional trust was Ronaldinho's biggest mistake. After all, Assis' influence on his life has been enormous since his early playing days.

"In other words, even with such a great talent, he may not have reached as far as he did if he didn't have a person by his side. It's no secret that off the pitch Ronaldinho has never been someone who decided his own future. It has always been in somebody else's hands, especially his brother."

This sort of dependence is not strange at all among Brazilian players.

"We've had Adriano and his father, a relationship of much affection, but also reliance. Neymar and his dad, too, even though this one is slightly different—less emotionally dependent and more based on the complete trust in decisions. I think that they are possibly the best comparison we can make to Ronaldinho and Assis," argues Leonardo Bertozzi, a football analyst for ESPN.

"When Ronaldinho left Milan and came back to Brazil, Assis sat with three teams to negotiate, saying different things to each one of them.

"Ronaldinho could have been firmer and made his voice more heard in such situations, but he clearly didn't."

Right now, while still in custody in Paraguay, he's certainly got plenty of time to think about past mistakes from Room 104 at the Palmaroga hotel.

In recent years, his name was dragged into controversies such as an unpaid $2.5 million fine for environmental damage, having his Brazil passport confiscated, being rumoured as a possible senate candidate for the country's far-right-wing party, advertising for shady companies and standing trial on an alleged pyramid scheme.

Ronaldinho has endured a rough fall from grace, but at 40, he can still ensure that his football legacy is not fully destroyed by his post-retirement activities.

"[Diego] Maradona always comes to my mind in such cases—a very problematic character, who also had his share of messes. I still remember the image of him escaping from Italy in 1991 amid the whole [cocaine] scandal," Bertozzi says.

"Obviously, the human being's reputation can be affected in those circumstances, but the memories from the player will certainly find a way to impose themselves."

"Ronaldinho was the only guy who could have really matched Pele's status. I watched him since the very beginning and I've never seen anyone as talented with the ball. With a bit more discipline out of the field, he could have been a much bigger player, someone to win five Ballon d'Or crowns," Olivier concludes.

Instead, Ronaldinho has seen himself go from arguably the world's best No. 10 to Prisoner No. 194 in a Paraguayan jail. His biggest challenges now lie off the pitch.

       

Follow Marcus on Twitter: @_marcus_alves

With no football being played to divert the attention, Barcelona are suddenly being exposed as a club in crisis.

There have been issues behind the scenes all season, the latest of which came on Friday when six directors resigned. One of them, Emili Rousaud, even told RAC1 (h/t Marca): "I think someone has had their hand in the till."

Such a comment will not sit well with president Josep Maria Bartomeu, but he is now under mounting pressure to bring forward club elections.

It's all very tense, and there are serious worries about how issues in the background will begin to impact the team on the pitch.

A month without fixtures is beginning to affect how they plan financially, sources in Spain told Bleacher Report. Players have agreed to cut their wages by 70 per cent, and the club also applied for an ERTE (Temporary Reduction of Employment Action) in order to pay other club staff.

A report from The Athletic's Dermot Corrigan on April 6 also said, "Barca's 2019-20 budget needs £109 million income from player trading to balance the books." 

Yet somehow they continue to be linked with signing the likes of Neymar and Lautaro Martinez—so how does this all add up?

Here, we take a look at the most prominent rumours for players moving both in and out of the club this year and how they might pan out.

     

In

Neymar

In a dream world, Barcelona bring Neymar back to the club as soon as possible—we already saw them attempt it last summer.

He's probably going to remain out of reach this time around, too.

Neymar is happier now in Paris than he was a year ago, and the fact that Paris Saint-Germain are into the quarter-finals of the Champions League shows they are closer to matching his ambition.

The other major factor in PSG's favour is that they believe no club in the world has the power to sign him at the end of this season because of the economic circumstances now arising.

La Liga is expected to be hit hard by the impact of the coronavirus, and Neymar's wages—which equate to more than $3 million a year—is a problem on top of any transfer fee, which would be upwards of €160 million (approx $175 million), B/R sources suggest. 

Barca would have to sell at least two big-money players to even consider signing Neymar.

       

Lautaro Martinez

As one of the key performers for Inter Milan in Serie A this season, Martinez has emerged as a target for Barca.

His arrival is more realistic than that of Neymar, particularly as he has a €111 million release clause that can be triggered this summer. Martinez is currently weighing up his options before committing any further to his current employers. No new negotiations have taken place over an improved deal with Inter. 

Aged 22, he has the potential to help Barcelona transition away from star striker Luis Suarez, and he would be linking up with fellow Argentina international Messi—which is an obvious lure. Intermediaries have already touched base to make him aware that formal contact could be on the way soon, and if he leaves Inter, this is where he is most likely to land. 

"This deal can become possible," one Spanish source confidently told B/R.   

      

Kai Havertz

Barca have a long-standing interest in Bayer Leverkusen's Havertz, who is just 20 years old. He has an exciting style of play that would suit them, with his bursts from midfield catching the eye. 

He's been one of the most coveted young players in Europe over the past year, and Barca have remained one of the few clubs genuinely in with a chance of getting him.

They have maintained constant relations with his representatives, yet there is a growing feeling among  Bundesliga insiders that we will stay in Germany.

There is a feeling it might be too soon in his career to move to a new country and also break through at a major club, so B/R sources believe Bayern Munich is his most likely landing spot.

By staying in Germany, he can take a small upwards step, prove himself at the next tier, then look for the major transfer outside of the country in a couple of years.

If Barca can raise the funds, they will make an offer for Havertz, though—so it will be interesting to see how tempting that becomes when actually faced with the opportunity. 

     

Out

Ousmane Dembele

Since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2017, Dembele has missed 80 matches through injury, with many of those issues relating to his hamstring—a big concern for a young player whose style of play depends heavily on pace and trickery. 

Sources in Spain have acknowledged the chances of Barca ever recouping the €105 million they initially splashed out on him are now slim. While his talent is not in question, clubs will be concerned about how long he can remain fit.

Dembele is contracted to Barca until 2022, and the feeling among sources is that the club are going to give him time to focus fully on his rehabilitation, and only once he has returned to the field again will they begin to think about his future.

There is a sense the player deserves that respect and time. Ideally, Barcelona do not even want to sell him at all.

But this one is going to have to be revisited in the new year before we have a better idea of how the situation pans out.

        

Philippe Coutinho

The transfer from Liverpool has not worked for Coutinho, and now the Spanish club are looking at ways to keep him off their wage bill. They simply need to move on from each other.

Coutinho is currently on loan at Bayern Munich, who have no intention to sign him on a permanent basis.

But the player himself has been refusing to think too far into the future while there is uncertainty around how the COVID-19 pandemic will influence major transfers over the coming year.

One source told B/R he is keen on the idea of returning to the Premier League, and he still holds a good reputation in English football. However, his £240,000-a-week wage from Barca would be a problem for most clubs in the division.

The amount, which equates to around $300,000, would make him the highest earner at most clubs.

Chelsea and Arsenal are being strongly linked. Chelsea would only be interested in a loan deal, and even then they have reservations about how he would fit into their overall structure. 

Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City and Everton have an interest, but it would depend on the finances. One source suggested Barca will struggle to recoup much more than half the £142 million they paid for him two years ago in this current climate. He needs to go, though, so they are going to have to work hard to find him the ideal transfer.

       

Antoine Griezmann

Barcelona needed a huge loan to complete Griezmann's transfer from Atletico Madrid and, in hindsight, should not have bothered.

He's struggled to find his rhythm in attack with Messi and Luis Suarez, and in March, there had been suggestions from insiders around the club that he would be sold if they received a suitable offer.

Those thoughts were before the coronavirus pandemic kicked in, though. While some involved at the top level would still sell, there is now only a slim chance of being able to offload Griezmann. Of the clubs who could realistically afford him, Manchester United would normally have an interest but are focusing on other deals.

So the only other option might be to use him as a makeweight to bring back Neymar from PSG. It has been considered, but it is believed Griezmann doesn't want to give up on Barca just yet, so he would not be keen on moving to Ligue 1. 

The club are most likely to keep Griezmann for now, but we should expect them to evaluate his situation again in 2021.  

FC Barcelona have threatened legal action against former vice president Emili Rousaud because of allegations he made against the club after resigning this week. 

According to Joe Wright of Goal.com, Rousaud said the following to RAC1 on Friday: "I think someone has had their hand in the treasury, although I don't know who. You pay €1 million [to i3 Ventures] for a job that has a market price of €100,000. I don't know who it was, but I can have an idea, although I don't think it was someone on the board."

In response, Barcelona released a statement which read, in part:

"In the light of the serious and unfounded accusations made this morning by Mr. Emili Rousaud, ex institutional vice president at the Club, in different interviews with the media, FC Barcelona categorically denies any activity that can be described as corruption, therefore, reserves the right to any legal action that may correspond."

Rousaud was one of six Barca board members to step down this week, along with Enrique Tombas, Silvio Elias, Josep Pont, Jordi Calsamiglia and Maria Texidor.

Per Wright, it was reported that the resignations occurred after club president Josep Maria Bartomeu asked that four members step down in an effort to "strengthen support" during what is his final year in office.

Barcelona commented on the reshuffling as part of their statement:

"Finally, the resignations of the members of the Board of Directors announced over the last few hours have come about due to a reorganization of the Board put forward by president Josep Maria Bartomeu and which will be completed in the next few days. 

"This reorganization of the Board of Directors is an attempt to face the challenge of the final phase of the mandate in the best way possible with the objective being the implementation of the necessary measures to prepare for the Club's future, overcoming the consequences of the public health crisis which is currently upon us and to bring to a conclusion the management program began in 2010 and the Strategic Plan approved in 2015."

Rousaud also alleged that Barcelona and PR firm i3 Ventures entered into an agreement meant to improve Bartomeu's image and fight against criticism from current and former Barca players on social media.

Both Barcelona and i3 Ventures have denied any such arrangement.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi refuted speculation he's considering a move to Inter Milan.

Football journalist Fabrizio Romano shared Messi's Instagram post ruling out the possible transfer:

https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1248310171891359744

While Messi has spent his entire senior career at Barcelona, his future with the club has been a storyline throughout the season.

The six-time Ballon d'Or winner got into a war of words with sporting director Eric Abidal after the former Barca defender attempted to shift the blame to the players for the sacking of manager Ernesto Valverde.

The Guardian's Sid Lowe noted Messi's contract includes an option that allows him to leave for free this summer. Lowe added that "there is a growing feeling his final years are being wasted" in reference to Messi, who turns 33 in June, and that the Argentinian star may share the opinion.

Barcelona are the two-time reigning La Liga champions, but they threw away a 4-1 first-leg lead in the 2018 Champions League quarter-finals and then watched a 3-0 first-leg lead evaporate the following year in the semi-finals.

The turmoil at Camp Nou isn't limited to Messi's status. ESPN FC's Moises Llorens and Sam Marsden reported club president Josep Maria Bartomeu was attempting to ouster four members from the board: "One source compared life behind the scenes at Camp Nou to hit television drama Game of Thrones, explaining that everyone is vying to position themselves ahead of next summer's presidential elections."

Sky Sports' Lyall Thomas reported in February that Messi intends to see out the full duration of his current deal, which runs through 2021.

In the dying minutes of 2011's Spanish Super Cup final second leg at the Camp Nou, a fight broke out between the players and coaching staff of Barcelona and Real Madrid close to the halfway line. It was an unholy sight. About 20 seconds into the brawl, Real Madrid's then-manager Jose Mourinho drifted into the melee. He made a beeline for Tito Vilanova, Barcelona's assistant coach—who died three years later from throat cancer—and gouged him in the eye from behind.

As Mourinho fled the scene of the crime, Vilanova turned and pushed him in the back of the neck. Dressed in a white shirt and with his head shaved, Mourinho's bodyguard stepped in to stop Vilanova from getting any further. Later in the press conference, Mourinho was asked about the incident with Tito. He said he didn't know who "Pito" was. Pito is slang in Spanish for prick. 

Real Madrid's hardcore fans loved Mourinho for it. A week later, in the final pre-season game before the league kicked off, Real Madrid entertained Galatasaray at the Santiago Bernabeu. Directly in front of the directors' box, there was a huge banner that celebrated the devilment of Mourinho. It read: "Mou, your finger shows us the way."

One thing standing in Mourinho's way, however, was Barcelona. They had beaten Real Madrid 5-4 in the Spanish Super Cup. In seven encounters since Mourinho had taken charge at Real Madrid, he had only managed to beat Pep Guardiola's team once—in an engrossing 2011 Copa del Rey final at the Mestalla, which was decided by a towering Cristiano Ronaldo header in extra time. At the time, Barca had just won three league titles on the bounce and were reigning UEFA Champions League holders.

"I didn't have confidence in Real Madrid at this moment," says Oscar Sanz, a journalist with El Pais. "It was very surprising that the team went on to win 'La Liga de los Records,' breaking all these records, amassing 100 points in the league—which Barcelona equalled the following season—and shattering the goals scored record.

"That team of Mourinho's scored 121 goals, beating the old record of 107—also held by Real Madrid—in the 1989-90 season. Nobody saw this coming, especially because Mourinho is renowned for being a defensive coach, but he demonstrated that season it wasn't true. It suggests that all the controversies generated by Mourinho benefited Real Madrid in the end."

As well as his dirty tricks, Mourinho had a squad that was stocked with FIFA World Cup champions (including Iker Casillas, Xabi Alonso, Sergio Ramos and future winners Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira), Ballon d'Or winners (Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka) and talents such as Pepe, Marcelo and Karim Benzema, players who would end the decade with pockets full of UEFA Champions League winners medals.

Ronaldo was at the peak of his powers. He scored 46 goals in the league campaign. It was an extraordinary haul, and the most prolific season of his career. Remarkably, his tally included hat-tricks in both Madrid derbies (which only represent a fraction of the goals he's scored while tormenting Atletico Madrid over a 10-year period).   

For sheer gall, one goal stood out. In Real Madrid's last game in February 2012, they made the short hop to the Vallecas Stadium to play Rayo Vallecano. The game was deadlocked when Ronaldo decided the game early in the second half. Real Madrid won a corner kick, which Ozil took. The ball bobbled in the box until it scuttled away from the penalty spot.

Ronaldo followed it and then, with his back to goal and with seemingly nothing on, he hopped once on his left foot to give himself enough lift-off to stab a fierce backheel with his right foot from eight yards out. It all happened so quickly and was such an unexpected manoeuvre that it caught Rayo's defence off-guard. The ball flew into the bottom corner of the net while Rayo's goalkeeper, Joel Robles, stood rooted to the ground.

That 1-0 win against Rayo was in the middle of an 11-game winning streak. One of their most distinctive traits was their solidity. They were a team stocked with hardened professionals who never took a step backwards. They bullied teams and could depend on either Benzema or Gonzalo Higuain, who each broke the 20-goal mark for the La Liga season, as well as Ronaldo, to complete the job.

"Real Madrid that season were a very physical team—aggressive, but not violent," says Tomas Roncero, a journalist with Diario AS. "For it to function—and to beat Barca in particular, a team which was playing like a violin at the time under Guardiola—it needed 11 players who were united and committed. Maybe because of the importance of this structure, Cristiano was more liberated in attack, but the rest of them used to go at opposition teams like they were in the army.

"Rival teams took note. Real Madrid never lost a physical battle. When Real Madrid went to Pamplona in March, for example. In other times, it used to be a hostile stadium where Osasuna fans intimidated Real Madrid, but not this team. They ate them, scoring five goals. It was because Real Madrid were more superior in the physical battle. They were warriors. Men like Sami Khedira, Pepe, Ramos. They were very difficult to beat."

Guardiola's Barcelona team—which had Lionel Messi at his most destructive and in the middle of scoring 50 league goals over the season—still had the upper hand over Mourinho. In December 2011, the teams met in the league at the Bernabeu, which Barcelona won 3-1.

The two teams met again at the same stadium in the Copa del Rey a month later—in a game that became notorious for Pepe's stamping on Messi's hand. Barca won again, 2-1 this time, which, after a 2-2 draw in the second leg, was enough for Barca to progress to the next round.

Mourinho—who Barcelona rejected when they appointed the then-novice coach Guardiola as head coach instead of him in 2008—was at breaking point. After the second leg of the cup tie at the Camp Nou, he waited in the car park, which is in the bowels of the stadium, and was photographed waiting to criticise the referee for his performance.

"The rivalry between Real Madrid and Barca, and Mourinho and Guardiola, was very intense at the time," says Roncero. "Mourinho knew how to rouse Real Madrid's fans. In Mourinho's first two seasons in charge, Real Madrid's fans listened to him. They agreed with his grievances—the mistakes that referees were making, the unfair fixture list, and so on. Before Mourinho arrived, fans felt ignored by the club. The club acted—under the direction of its president Florentino Perez—politically correctly.

"Most of time, everyone seemed against Real Madrid. People liked Barca more because of their tiki-taka style of play with Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Messi. It looked like everybody wanted Barca to win. Real Madrid were persecuted. Mourinho criticised Barca in public, in press conferences. The tension he generated passed to the pitch, and from there to the terraces. It led to a period we call 'the storm of clasicos'—a run of Madrid-Barca games each season that aroused spectacular attention and lots of controversy."

In the league title race, things came to a head when the teams met at the Camp Nou in late April 2012 on a balmy evening. There were only four rounds of games left to play after this match, and Real Madrid had the upper hand—Barca trailed Mourinho's side by four points. It was D-Day.

Khedira gave Real Madrid an early lead with a scrappy goal scored from a corner. Midway through the second half, Alexis Sanchez equalised for Barcelona. A minute later, Ozil provided the assist of the season—a 40-yard pass into the path of Ronaldo, which was hit with such nonchalance that it hoodwinked Barcelona's central defenders, Javier Mascherano and Carles Puyol. 

Ronaldo celebrated his goal—which effectively decided the league title race—with his famous hand-waving "calm down, Cristiano is here" message to the TV cameras assembled by the corner flag. The ingenuity from Ozil—who provided 17 assists, the most of any player in La Liga that season—was instrumental.

"Mesut Ozil had the best season of his career without a doubt," says Sanz. "He was key to everything Real Madrid did. Mourinho did something very risky in deploying Ozil because he wasn't a defensively minded player, obviously, but Mourinho constructed a barrier in the centre of the pitch with Khedira and Xabi Alonso around him so Ozil had total freedom. His back was covered."

Real Madrid's 2-1 win was the club's first league victory at the Camp Nou since 2007. The club wrapped up the league title with a 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao at San Mames with a couple of games to spare. It was the high point of Mourinho's reign at the club. He managed to put a stop to Guardiola's dominance in Spain. The Catalan coach left Barcelona at the end of the season and—exhausted—took a year's sabbatical from the game.

"Mourinho's three years at Real Madrid were not a success," says Roncero. "For me, his only success was 'the league of the records' because it was against the greatest Barcelona team of its history and with great statistics and great football. It had a lot of merit, but the achievement is not that high in the affections of Real Madrid's fans.

"Real Madrid's 'Quinta del Buitre' team in the 1980s didn't win a European Cup, but it was the best team that I saw in my life playing football. In attack, it was a continuous symphony. The Real Madrid team that won five European Cups in a row with Alfredo di Stefano, Paco Gento, Ferenc Puskas was a machine. Di Stefano played in five consecutive European Cup finals and scored in each of them. It's something that Messi or Cristiano or Pele never achieved.

"Real Madrid's 'Galacticos' team was surely a worse team than Mourinho's Real Madrid, but it was more charming. If you see on the pitch at the same time, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, David Beckham, Roberto Carlos, Luis Figo and Raul passing the ball to each other, it's something to behold. Real Madrid's season of the records in 2011-2012 was fantastic, but it lacked some charm, the power to seduce you. It's a rung below the other great Real Madrid teams in its history."

          

Follow Richard on Twitter: @Richard_Fitz

Celta Vigo forward Fedor Smolov ignored a lockdown order and left Spain to return to Russia for his fiancee Maria Yumasheva's 18th birthday party, according to The Guardian. 

He was the second Celta Vigo player to defy the quarantine order after forward Pione Sisto drove home to Denmark last week. 

"The player repeatedly requested permission to travel to Russia for a personal matter," a club source told AS regarding the 30-year-old Smolov (via The Guardian). "The club could not give it to him because La Liga did not authorize it, but he promptly reported his movements and left with the commitment to return once he solved his personal affairs."

Smolov said last week he understood he wouldn't be able to visit his fiancee, Yumasheva—who is the granddaughter of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin—due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair were engaged in January.

"I get along well, nothing new can happen," he said. "I don't think about anything and I accept the situation."

Apparently not. Smolov is now reportedly facing a fine upon his return, per The Guardian.

The forward has made five starts for Celta Vigo this season, with one goal. He joined the club on loan in late January. 

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone and the club's players have agreed to a 70 percent pay cut after the team announced it would present an ERTE during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Rodrigo Faez and Alex Kirkland of ESPN, a step that Spanish businesses can take during an emergency to cut the wages of its staff.

The club released the following statement Thursday:

"The first team squad and coaching staff understand the club's need to present an ERTE, respect its conditions and accept the resulting financial impact on their incomes. All members of the first team have reached an internal agreement with the club that defines two different scenarios depending on the final outcome of the 2019-20 season. The filing will mean a 70 percent reduction in the salaries of coaches and players of the men's first team, the women's first team and Atletico Madrid B, while the state of emergency lasts."

Per Faez and Kirkland, Simeone and the players "were keen" to help the support staff by taking the pay cuts, which will supplement 50 percent of the salaries for 430 Atletico employees. Team executives will pay the other 50 percent. 

Atletico's La Liga rivals, Barcelona, took similar measures, with its players also taking a 70 percent pay cut, while in the Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Schalke 04 and Hoffenheim have enforced player pay cuts. 

And La Liga clubs Espanyol and Alaves will also present ERTEs to reduce wage bills amid the coronavirus pandemic. Faez and Kirkland reported that Real Madrid "have no plans to take similar measures."

As of Thursday, there have been over 962,000 reported cases of COVID-19, per CNN.com, with 49,180 deaths. In Spain there have been over 110,000 cases and 10,003 deaths. 

When, or if, La Liga's season resumes, Atletico will attempt to claw back into a top-four position. The Spanish powerhouse sits in sixth place on 45 points. 

It was two years ago that Real Madrid first began to think about buying Harry Kane.

As Cristiano Ronaldo made a move across Europe to join Juventus, there became a sudden need for a new goalscoring Galactico.

They looked at the very elite—Neymar Jr., Kylian Mbappe and Eden Hazard were all there. Robert Lewandowski, too. But so was Tottenham striker Kane.

Intermediaries working on behalf of Madrid reached out at that time to get a feel of what it would take to land Kane, but the answer was not welcoming. Spurs valued him at £200 million, and, more than that, chairman Daniel Levy wasn't keen on talking even at that price. 

So Madrid walked away and eventually signed Hazard from Chelsea in 2019 as their new superstar, adding Luka Jovic as back-up striker to Karim Benzema.

But that Ronaldo void still remains.

Hazard and Jovic have scored just three goals between them this season. And, now, as Kane raises doubts about his future at Spurs, there is a feeling Madrid might take another look in his direction.

Harry Kane was honest about his Tottenham future 👀 pic.twitter.com/VPm2nXNdot

— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 29, 2020

Chairman Levy believes he owns one of world football's most complete strikers, and the message being delivered by sources around the club right now is that even in these difficult times, he'll take some persuading to budge on Kane's valuation.

With football on hold due to the spread of COVID-19, there is concern within the game about how you can put a price tag on any player. What is value at a time when so many businesses, clubs and individuals are  enduring such a struggle to make ends meet?

But with Kane, sources say it's difficult to see Spurs changing their stance. At the very lowest, they think Spurs would expect £150 million for him.

Levy has just announced 550 non-playing staff will take a 20 per cent pay cut, and there are obvious concerns about budgeting and squad salaries at a time when there is no matchday revenue and a chance TV money might have to be repaid.

He has always been careful with cash at Tottenham, but that is why some sources feel that could lead to Kane leaving. How will he match Kane's ambition?

From their own conversations with Kane, Spurs know that UEFA Champions League qualification is crucial to keeping him content. They also know that strengthening the squad to prove they can compete at the top level is vital. 

Yet, there is concern right now about whether they will be able to satisfy him on either front.

There is only an outside chance of playing in the Champions League next season, and it seems unlikely Levy is going to heavily strengthen the squad on the back of the coronavirus pandemic.

As part of a statement released by the club, Levy said: 'When I read or hear stories about player transfers this summer like nothing has happened, people need to wake up to the enormity of what is happening around us. ... We may be the eighth largest club in the world by revenue, according to the Deloitte survey, but all that historical data is totally irrelevant as this virus has no boundaries.'

There is more uncertainty than ever before.

The Spurs hierarchy know Kane craves trophies—that is one of the reasons Jose Mourinho, a serial winner, was brought to the club.

But when the player was quizzed by Jamie Redknapp over Instagram and delivered a public warning with authority, precision and confidence, it surprised many—even some that know him well.

"I love Spurs," he said. "I'll always love Spurs, but I've always said if I don't feel we're progressing as a team or going in the right direction, I'm not someone to stay there for the sake of it.

"I'm an ambitious player. I want to improve, get better and become one of the top, top players. It all depends on what happens as a team and how we progress as a team. So it's not a definite I'm going to stay there forever, but it's not a no either."

Kane, 26, is giving Spurs an ultimatum: Start winning or I'm off. 

Only a handful of clubs could even consider signing Kane, though, and of those it is Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United and Manchester City that hold genuine interest.

Kane's latest words have given all of them something to think about, but Madrid remains the most likely landing spot if he does leave.

Sources in Spain are adamant that he is still on their radar as a potential replacement for 32-year-old Benzema. But when an approach might happen becomes the next question.

Right now, Paris Saint-Germain's Mbappe remains the club's absolute priority, so they will look to see how that situation opens up. Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland is also emerging as a man who fits their mould.

But if neither of those transfers look possible, there is reason for optimism in the case of Kane. Spurs sources indicated to Bleacher Report that Levy would be more willing to let him move to a foreign club than anyone in the Premier League.

So would he go for it?

"Harry has never conveyed any true desire to play abroad, but a move to the Bernabeu has an obvious lure," one insider explained. "I think most people around Spurs accept he won't stay at the club for his entire career, but it would be painful to see him join a direct rival. If he leaves, I think he'll go abroad."

When football returns, those close to Kane are adamant that he will continue to give everything for Tottenham. He is desperate for them to be successful, and he loves being their leader.

But we are approaching the stage where he has a big decision to make over his future—and it is starting to look like he fancies a fresh challenge.

Listen to Dean on the B/R Football Ranks podcast. New episodes every Wednesday. Subscribe here.

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Marti Riverola was 20 years old when he made his debut for Barcelona in December 2011. It was at the Camp Nou Stadium for a UEFA Champions League game against BATE Borisov. He wasn't nervous on the eve of the game because he wasn't sure if he'd play. It took him a long time to sleep after Barca's 4-0 win, though, as he was so high on adrenaline and flooded with messages of congratulations from family and friends.

It was peak Lionel Messi time. The Argentinian was in the middle of his most prolific scoring season, netting a record 50 goals in La Liga—though Real Madrid won the league—and tallying an incredible 91 goals in a calendar year. Riverola had not believed his luck when Barca coach Pep Guardiola called him up to train with Messi and Co. for the first team a couple of years earlier.

"At that stage, Messi was my idol, and he still is," Riverola says. "When you first meet him, it's like: Wow! I can't believe I'm meeting Messi. Then five minutes later, you have to calm down and train with him. You have to tackle him. You have to pass him the ball. You're just one more player in the training session. You can't be thinking, Wow, there's Messi over there."

---

Frank Rijkaard gave Maso his first-team debut against Athletic Bilbao in the old San Mames ground in 2006. He was part of the crop from Barcelona's most celebrated collection of youth academy footballers—those players at La Masia who were born in 1987 and known as "the generation of '87", which included Messi, Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique. Maso remembers the training sessions at La Masia were ferocious.

"The training matches at the academy were more competitive than the games," he says."Messi in training was very competitive. He always wanted to win. When he got on the ball, you could see he was different to everyone else, even alongside Pique and Cesc. He made things look easy, but whenever he touched the ball, something nearly always happened.

"Messi's personality was very unassuming, very straightforward. He was introverted, but once he got out onto the pitch, he came alive. He's always had a winner's mentality, and he was always thinking about football, football, football, how to be the best. It's what put him at a different level and why he continues to be superior year in, year out for the last 10, 12 years. He never lets up. He keeps breaking records, keeps scoring as many goals as the previous season. He's a beast."

One memory in particular stands out for Maso from those early years. It was a game for Barca's under-17 team against Espanyol in the 2003 final of the Catalonia Cup. Seven days earlier, Messi had fractured his cheekbone in a clash during a game. He was so desperate to play the final that he did so wearing a loose-fitting plastic face mask—which the club had made earlier in the season for a similar injury Carles Puyol suffered from a training collision with Frank de Boer.

"It showed you his competitiveness," Maso says. "Playing with a mask on in that Espanyol game wasn't common. I'd never seen it before, or I don't think I've seen it since. But that was Messi—he always showed up. He never shirks. He scored two goals in the game. He never gives a damn about anything else. All he only wants to do is play football."

---

Messi made his debut for Barcelona's first team several months later against FC Porto—when Jose Mourinho was the Portuguese club's manager—in a friendly organised to inaugurate Porto's new stadium. Jordi Gomez made his debut for Barca that night in November 2003, too, before spending several years playing in the English Premier League with Wigan Athletic and Sunderland.

Barcelona's squad was full of incredible players, including Puyol, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez. (At the end of the season, Deco and Samuel Eto'o joined.) It was Ronaldinho, though, who was a class apart. The fact that Ronaldinho so visibly took the 16-year-old Messi under his wing was significant, Gomez says.

"When Messi started training with the first team, all the senior players could see that he was special," he says. "They helped him to be at his best. Ronaldinho was the star at that time. From the first moment, he took care of him. It was important for Messi that the big star of the team was on his side. Obviously Messi's quality was unbelievable, so I don't know if he needed [Ronaldinho's blessing], but it definitely helped him along.

"The thing about Messi, too, was that he played the same in training as he did in games. He had such talent. He was doing unbelievable things in training, but he made them look easy. And that's the most difficult thing—to bring those performances from training onto the pitch in big games. Some players can do it in training but can't in matches, and Messi has been doing that for years and years."

---

Ronaldinho's skill and exuberance lit up the Camp Nou during those early years of Messi's career. After years of disappointment and underachievement following the loss of Luis Figo to Real Madrid in 2000, Ronaldinho put Barca back on top and helped drive them to a UEFA Champions League title in 2005-06. Messi missed that final through injury. It wasn't long, however, before he took over Ronaldinho's role as the team's franchise player.

"The explosion of Ronaldinho changed everything in Barcelona's history," says Cristian Hidalgo, a midfielder who made his debut for Barcelona in 2006 during a Copa del Rey match. "Ronaldinho helped Barcelona to get ahead of Real Madrid.

"Messi wasn't a player who marvelled crowds like Ronaldinho—with his dribbling or his sombreros or his bicycle kicks. Messi did things that looked more simple but were very difficult to do. His ball control was amazing. He'd do nutmegs, but he didn't have to do flashy things with the ball—like Ronaldinho or other Brazilians do to hold on to the ball—because he always had the ball under control.

"The ambition Messi had was obvious. He always wanted more and more of the ball. Whether he was playing in the Camp Nou or in the second division with Barca B or with his friends on the street, he played the same way. His ambition wasn't unusual, but when you combined it with the talent he obviously had, it made him into an incredible player."

---

Damia made his La Liga debut for Barca a couple of weeks after Messi's first official start for Barcelona in the league in October 2004. As a footballer who played most of his career in defence, Damia remembers it was next to impossible to stop Messi in his tracks.

"He was playing as a winger in those days," Damia says. "He was so determined to run at the defender all the time. It was so, so difficult to defend against him. When he was young, defenders tried to take the ball from him—and that was a mistake.

"What happens—and it happens when you play against other great players—is that you tend to back off and give him space. Let him play a little bit with the ball instead of lunging in and trying to steal the ball because if you dive in, almost 100 times out of 100, he will have the instinct to avoid your tackle.

"So in those early days, he had a lot of impact in those one-on-one situations because defenders all the time wanted to take the ball from him. He was still only 18 or 19 years old. Later, defenders waited more and began to stand off him.

"Lately, too, he's been going further back the pitch in the positions he takes up. He's taking advantage of this extra space in front of him because he's one of the greatest providers of assists in the game as well as an incredible scorer."

Andreu Fontas, another Barcelona defender, played alongside Messi in the final of the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup—when Barca defeated a Santos team featuring Neymar Jr. 4-0 in Japan, with Messi scoring two goals. He says that it's important to defend as a group when confronted by Messi.

"It was impossible to defend against Messi in training," Fontas says. "Imagine what you see him doing in games, what he has been doing now for so many years. In training, he did all those amazing things he does in competitive games as well. He's the best player for me in history for sure. I was very young at the time. It was a hopeless task trying to stop him.

"I tried to stay close to him and not to give him space. The greatest defenders in the world have shown that it's almost impossible to close him down. It takes more than an individual marking him. It takes a team effort. The opposition team has to have a very strong defence and a very strong defensive mentality and be ready to cover him with more than one player, but then the worry is that you're leaving Messi's teammates free to score."

---

Riverola remembers what it was like to get praise from Messi when he did something well. It made him feel 10 feet tall, but he tried not to make too much of it. "You're shy," he says. "You think, Oh, thank you. That's it. You don't want to say anything more because it's Messi talking to you. You have to keep your cool and focus on the next ball."

Riverola also recalls the lash of Messi's tongue when he made a mistake. "Messi is like every player," he says. "When something doesn't work out, when you miss a chance, of course they scold you and say, 'You can do better.' Messi isn't different to any other player in that regard. He's ultracompetitive, but he's not overbearing.

"If you don't give him the ball—when he thinks you should—maybe he gets angry, but after a couple of seconds, he's back in the game and concentrating on the ball and everything is forgotten. He only wants the ball at his feet. He's like a child. When he doesn't have it, he always wants it: Give me, give me, give me. Once he has it again, there's no problem."

For several years, the media in Spain have identified "Messidependencia"—the overreliance by Barca on Messi—as a weakness. In a recent interview, Frankie de Jong, a marquee signing by the club from Ajax in the summer, acknowledged the first thing he does when he gets the ball is to look for Messi—he's so much better than everyone else on Barca's team.

"Messi intimidates some teammates, but not in the sense of, Wow, I'm playing with Messi; thinking Messi has to be involved in attacks as much as possible," Damia says. "Some players aren't suited well to Barcelona. They're not able to adapt to such a huge figure in the game. They know Messi is running toward goal to create a chance and he's the best finisher, so they tend to pass him the ball. Not because it's a rule but because he's like a magnet.

"Right throughout Messi's time at Barcelona, it's happened even with stars. You can see some average players suit the team well because they understand the role of Messi in the team, and some amazing players don't assimilate well because they can't fit their game around Messi.

"Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a great example. David Villa when he came struggled to adapt too. Eventually Villa made the jump and performed amazingly. Cristian Tello had a brilliant start at Barcelona, but he tends to go on solo runs all the time. It's the way he plays. It's not a criticism, but you could see he didn't connect with Messi. That was a problem for him to keep going at Barcelona.

"On the other hand, Jordi Alba is probably Messi's best teammate on the team now. You could find better left backs than Jordi Alba, but he's thrived at Barcelona because he's got a good connection with Messi."

   

Follow Richard on Twitter: @Richard_Fitz.