Barcelona (AFP)

Insatiable scorer, captain with 34 trophies and multiple records, six-time Ballon d'Or, Lionel Messi has embodied for more than 15 years one and the same team, FC Barcelona.

So much so that the player has sometimes seemed greater than the institution, with which he finally chose to honor his last year of contract after ten days of arm wrestling.

When he arrived at the Catalan training center at 13, the "Chip" is a local pride as much as a planetary symbol.

This is to say if the announcement of his desire to abandon his forever club shook Barça and Catalonia, who imagined Messi ending his career at Camp Nou.

"Messi's marriage to Barça has brought a lot to both (the club and the player), a lot of joy to the supporters," admitted Barcelona sporting director Ramon Planes.

"You have to have enormous respect for what Messi is and for his history."

Friday, Messi therefore reconsidered his decision, refusing to go to the standoff with the institution.

In 121 years of the Blaugrana club's existence, perhaps only Johan Cruyff, another Ballon d'Or, has accumulated such a global aura and Catalan roots.

But before returning to Barcelona as a successful technician, the Dutchman had not finished his playing career in the blue and garnet jersey, in an ultra-mediatized club that does not tolerate the aging of its stars.

At 33, Messi may no longer have the activity of a crazy young dog that made him pass the defenders in review like plots on all the grounds of Spain and Europe.

The small striker nevertheless remains a machine for dribbling, scoring and setting records, and attracts tourists from all over the world to the city.

- 'More than a player' -

He is by far the top scorer in Barça history (634 goals in 731 matches), the top scorer in La Liga history, the top scorer in a calendar year (91 in 2012) and the player having won the most trophies with Barcelona, ​​34 in all, including four Champions Leagues (2006, 2009, 2011, 2015).

The elf also collected six Ballons d'Or, better than Cristiano Ronaldo (5), Cruyff, Michel Platini, Marco Van Basten (3).

All that is missing is the consecration of a major title with the Argentine selection: the 2008 Olympic champion reached the finals of the 2014 World Cup and the Copa America in 2007, 2015 and 2016.

This is to say if in Barcelona, ​​since the professional beginnings of "Leo" in 2004, we have often relied entirely on the little prodigy who arrived in 2000 from Rosario.

And over the years, FC Barcelona, ​​which claims to be "more than a club", has come up against the weight of this striker who has become "more than a player".

An evil that has a name in Catalonia: "Messi-dependence".

"The Messi-addiction does not give me too much hives. In any team, Messi would influence the style of play," said Ernesto Valverde, then Barça coach, in 2018.

- Weight in the locker room -

By force of circumstances, this player with rare words and with the agreed expression has also gained more and more weight in the locker room, becoming captain in 2018, then influential in the arcana of the club.

In February, Messi had urged Eric Abidal, then the club's sporting director, to "take responsibility for his decisions" and "give names", after the Frenchman had blamed the players for the dismissal of Valverde.

Public outings that do not fit well with the smooth image of the little Argentinian known for his immoderate taste for beautiful games, his touching shyness and his childish smile.

Features that have earned him a much less "bling-bling" image than that of his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

When the world of football discovered Messi, it was moved by the fate of this kid who, according to the consecrated story, had growth problems and who had left Rosario at 13 to find a club in Barcelona that finances his medical treatment. .

This positive image has not changed, despite his conviction to 21 months in prison (which he did not have to serve) and a 2.1 million euro fine imposed by the Spanish Supreme Court in 2017 for fraud. tax, a few weeks before her marriage to Antonella, her childhood friend, mother of her three boys (Thiago, Mateo and Ciro).

Living in Castelldefels, in an upscale suburb of Barcelona, ​​Messi seemed to have found a family and professional balance in Catalonia.

But the nightmarish season lived with Barça, punctuated by a European humiliation against Bayern Munich (8-2), seemed to have pushed him on the way to the start.

Until this about-face on Friday.

© 2020 AFP