Perhaps there will come a time when something significant happens involving one of the superclubs of European football and it does not feel like another chapter in the Super League saga. But it is not here yet. Where Lionel Messi plays next season will be the result of the same political and socio-economic dynamics that led to that attempted breakaway in the spring—that and Barcelona’s dismal mismanagement.
It probably shouldn’t be a surprise that a handful of Catalan businessmen, some well-meaning, some self-serving, all essentially in place for their capacity to pander to the demands of the Barcelona fanbase, are no match for the essentially unlimited wealth of Qatar and Abu Dhabi—especially not when the pandemic has heightened the gulf between the traditional elite, dependent on football for its revenue, and the new money that effectively exists outside the traditional market.