Why Barcelona's money-men willwelcome Chelsea bid for €250Mman Lionel Messi

"Sometimes these things go in cycles and at the moment
Barcelona are in the middle of a fantastic cycle of having a
tremendous squad of players.
But that changes over
time ... ," Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United manager.
When Sir Alex Ferguson declared Barcelona as being in the
"middle of a fantastic cycle" after last year's Champions
League victory, you doubt even he could've predicted the
absolute accuracy of his comments. For after failing to win
any of the big trophies last season and with Pep
Guardiola's departure, this current Barca team do appear
on the decline.
And those fans who rubbished the claims of Guardiola
being unsettled and planning to step away from the job
barely weeks ago, may have to start preparing themselves
for another emotional blow in the coming year as the
spotlight sharpens on Lionel Messi's position within the
club.
Madrid sources are already talking about a refreshed
Guardiola, after a year of the civilian life in New York,
taking Messi with him to Chelsea.
Blues owner Roman Abramovich certainly has the spending
power to make the deal happen - even if Barca insist he
meets Messi's €250 million buyout clause. Since Guardiola
and Messi came together four years ago, Barca's revenue
rose between 10-15% annually as the trophies, TV money
and merchandise sales rolled in - figures which will make
financial sense to Abramovich in making the Argentine the
world's biggest transfer.
While inroads have been achieved across Asia and Africa,
Chelsea have seen Premier League rivals Manchester United
and Manchester City make great strides in establishing their
profiles in South America over recent years. The signing of
Messi would allow Chelsea to piggyback on the
Argentine's massive commercial power across the region
to claw back some of the ground lost to the Manchester
clubs.
And at Barca, while the protests will be made publicly,
inside the club the message will be much different.
El Economista alarmed Barca fans earlier this year with a
report showing their debt at a staggering €578.1m, with
claims they will struggle to pay back loans and service
debts. For all the benefits they enjoy from their lending
banks and local government, such debts simply cannot
continue and the sale of Messi would go some way to
balancing the books.
On the pitch, the Argentine may also find himself not
enjoying the same support as in the past.
Under Guardiola, everything was built around making
Messi Barca's focal point. One of the great bust-ups
Guardiola had with president Sandro Rosell and sports
director Andoni Zubizarreta was their insistence on a deal
for Santos star Neymar.
Guardiola argued both Messi and the Brazilian couldn't be
played in a system created to bring out the best in the
Argentine. But with Guardiola now gone, Rosell, so proud
of his strong ties to Brazilian football thanks to his time with
Nike, will seek to bring Neymar to Spain - perhaps as early
as this year. Where that leaves Messi is anyone's guess
under new coach Tito Vilanova.
But for whatever issues develop on the pitch, the bean
counters at the Nou Camp could have the final say.
Swapping Messi, even for a still world record €120 million,
for Neymar at €40 million makes simple economic sense -
especially for a club which will face greater external
pressure to get its finances in order as Spain's austerity
measures begin to bite.