Arjen Robben

The Green Knight is already a good take on the Green Knight story

I liked 25% more of The Green Knight than you did, bloody loved it in fact.

Yeah, but that was after his contract had expired and he'd become a free agent. As far as I'm aware, the rule applies to new players rather than contract extensions. After that, the amount becomes irrelevant, he could accept a wage of £1 and they still wouldn't be able to register him because he would be considered a new player when they were already over the cap. I'm saying why didn't they try to extend his contract much earlier, once Bartomeu was gone which seemed to be the crux of Messi's issues last year, and Laporta was in, you'd think that was the time to try to do it rather than let it lapse and complicate matters as it did. Pique, de Jong, Lenglet, and Ter Stegen all signed new deals in October, they hardly seem like pressing issues by comparison, and was one of the last acts by Bartomeu.

I might just be not fully clued up on the rules or something, but why did Barcelona willingly just let Messi's contract run down knowing full well that he would be considered a new player if they agreed a new contract after that? Given that he clearly wanted to stay, why did they not try to extend his contract before it expired, they'd still be massively overspending, sure, but at least he'd be registered still. Must leave such a bad taste that they just knowingly strung him along all summer like "yeah, yeah, no bother it's all in hand, everything's agreed, Messi will still be here, don't worry" only to pull the contract off the table at the last moment and finally be like "yeah, we can't, sorry". What a way to treat your greatest ever player.

The type of money Messi generates is probably the type of money a team in a financial black hole could have done without losing really.

Looks weird.

Twist? Clearly written by Gandalf or something. WE NEGOTIATE AT DAWN.

Yeah, and there's something about them where it seems a lot of players just like right in them, like when you think of those players you just instantly think of them in those kits even though they might have played longer elsewhere or for loads of clubs. Like Kaka at Milan, or Ronaldo at Inter.

It's a shame Inter are in financial turmoil too really, cause they're one club in particular who I could imagine Messi playing for and just looking right in that kit, and they have a good history of cult Argentinian's. What could have been. I do like Inter a lot. Something about their kits in particular just always feel nostalgic to me. Somehow Juventus just feel soulless to me compared to Inter, Milan, or even Roma. Seems baffling that Milan have only won Serie A three times in the last 25 years.

Never change, Jose.

Would love it if there some big twist. Like he signs a one year deal for no salary, just earns off his brand deals, digs Barca out of a hole with the revenue he brings them. Undoubtedly just saying goodbye of course but it’d be good.

Should agree to mutually terminate his contract and try and use that 270k they'll be saving on his salary on trying to sign Messi. That'd really rub salt in the wound.

El Chiringuito being normal as usual.