A state of astonishment pervaded the football world with the spread of news that Lionel Messi's contract with Barcelona had not been renewed, as the Catalan club confirmed that it would not be able to bear the costs of renewing the contract due to its financial crisis.
Messi is now completely free to negotiate a deal to join any club he wants, in what is expected to become the most prominent transfer deal in football history.
But what will happen to Barcelona after the departure of its most prominent star?
A report by Sportskeeda stated that Messi's departure would be a huge loss for Barcelona and the Spanish League, as the Argentine has been the cornerstone of the club and the league for nearly two decades.
However, the departure of the Bulga may be beneficial to Barca for several reasons.
Reduce material losses
The main reason why Barcelona has not been able to offer a suitable new deal to Lionel Messi is that the club is currently going through a severe financial crisis, and has had to reduce salaries drastically before the start of the new season.
Last month, reports confirmed that La Liga had imposed financial sanctions on FC Barcelona, which prompted the club to try to reduce the salaries of its players to keep Messi in its ranks, but it did not succeed in his endeavours.
It was reported in the media that Barcelona must provide 200 million euros before the start of the 2021-2022 season, and now it can focus on selling other players in order to reach the required amount and seek to get out of the financial crisis with the slightest damage.
Team rebuilding
Barcelona have been in a sharp decline over the past two seasons, and they finished third in the Spanish League last season and were eliminated from the Champions League after losing to Paris Saint-Germain in the final price.
The team's stars - such as Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets - are no longer at their best, and most observers have confirmed that the club needs to pump new blood and build a new generation for the future.
According to the report, Messi's departure will allow coach Ronald Koeman to build the team the way he wants, hoping to return it to its best levels in the coming seasons.
A golden opportunity for Antoine Griezmann
The report adds that Lionel Messi's unique talent has prevented many stars from shining with Barcelona, such as Thierry Henry, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Neymar.
At the moment, the French Antoine Griezmann is considered the most affected by the presence of Messi, despite his great capabilities that he has repeatedly shown with the French national team.
The report believes that the departure of the Argentine will give Griezmann a golden opportunity to raise his performance to the required level in Barcelona, in light of the presence of other distinguished players such as Sergio Aguero and Memphis Depay.
Focus on youth
Coach Ronald Koeman showed last season that he is not afraid to give young players a chance in the first team, as the talents of Pedri, Ansu Fati, Ricky Puig, Oscar Mingueza, Moriba and others have emerged.
With Messi gone, Koeman will find more room to nurture his young players and help lay the foundations for the club to build a strong squad for many years to come.
A lesson for the future
Despite the value of Lionel Messi, Barcelona must realize that they should not fall into such situations with any other player.
It is reported that the club was paying Messi 515,000 euros a week along with huge bonuses, which would make him the highest paid player in the world.
Barcelona has shown through the crisis it is going through that it has not disposed of its financial resources optimally.
It is estimated that the club has accumulated debts of more than one billion euros, a large part of which was dedicated to Lionel Messi's huge contract.
The report sees Messi's departure as an opportunity to rethink the salary scale and how to deal with future contract negotiations.