In any other season, Lionel Messi would not have had to take matters into his own hands.
In any other season, Barca fans would have stood jeering in the stands of the Camp Nou, waving their white handkerchiefs to demand change as their team lost grip on the Spanish title.
But this season—the one that has lasted over a year and left fans locked outside thanks to the impact of COVID-19—Messi has decided to take a stand.
He had been angry for months. First because of a perceived lack of effort from the board in trying to bring Neymar back, but more recently—as Real Madrid clinched La Liga in July—a frustrated Messi made clear how he felt about the team.