(FM23 BETA) The return of the MESSIah

[WilsonJuve]

"Here we go" Lionel Messi returns to FC Barcelona after just one season in the French capital. The signing was finalised after Barcelona raised the funds by selling  Sergio Busquets to PSG for £7.5m and Memphis Depay to Manchester City for £45m. Both players were deemed surplus to requirements and only had 12 months remaining on there current deals. To ensure the move was completed Messi has agreed to take a pay cut and will earn £575k per week for 3 seasons.




FC Barcelona
 

Futbol Club Barcelona  commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça, is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.

Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss, Catalan, German, and English footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism, hence the motto "Més que un club" ("More than a club"). Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters own and operate Barcelona. It is the fourth-most valuable sports team in the world, worth $4.76 billion, and the world's fourth richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of €582.1 million.[2][3] The official Barcelona anthem is the "Cant del Barça", written by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs.[4] Barcelona traditionally play in dark shades of blue and garnet stripes, hence nicknamed Blaugrana.

Domestically, Barcelona has won a record 75 trophies: 26 La Liga, 31 Copa del Rey, thirteen Supercopa de España, three Copa Eva Duarte, and two Copa de la Liga titles, as well as being the record holder for the latter four competitions. In international club football, the club has won 22 European and worldwide titles: five UEFA Champions League titles, a record four UEFA Cup Winners' Cups, a joint record five UEFA Super Cups, a record three Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, a joint record two Latin Cups and three FIFA Club World Cups.[5] Barcelona was ranked first in the International Federation of Football History & Statistics Club World Ranking for 1997, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015, and occupies the sixth position on the UEFA club rankings as of July 2022.[6][7][8] The club has a long-standing rivalry with Real Madrid, and matches between the two teams are referred to as El Clásico.

Barcelona is one of the most widely supported teams in the world, and the club has one of the largest social media following in the world among sports teams.[9][10] Barcelona players have won a record twelve Ballon d'Or awards, with recipients including Johan Cruyff, as well as a record seven FIFA World Player of the Year awards, with winners including Romário, Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho. In 2010, three players who came through the club's youth academy (Lionel Messi, Andrés Iniesta and Xavi) were chosen as the three best players in the world in the FIFA Ballon d'Or awards, an unprecedented feat for players from the same football academy. Additionally, players representing the club have won a record eight European Golden Shoe awards.

Barcelona is one of three founding members of the Primera División that have never been relegated from the top division since its inception in 1929, along with Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid. In 2009, Barcelona became the first Spanish club to win the continental treble consisting of La Liga, Copa del Rey, and the UEFA Champions League, and also became the first Spanish football club to win six out of six competitions in a single year, by also winning the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup.[11] In 2011, the club became European champions again, winning five trophies. This Barcelona team, which won fourteen trophies in just four years under Pep Guardiola, is considered by some in the sport to be the greatest team of all time.[12][13][14] By winning their fifth Champions League trophy in 2015, Barcelona became the first European football club in history to achieve the continental treble twice.


Aims for the save.

Win La Liga and establish ourselves as the best team in Spain once again.
Win the champions league.
Become self sufficient financially.
I will also look to make profits in any transfer window we participate in.
Try to bring some younger talents into the first team despite the Beta technicals bug.
Any club icons and legends who are available will also be offered staff roles at the club.

Aims for Lionel Messi.

Win La Liga title.
Win another Champions League 
Win an 8th Ballon D'or
Retain at club one playing career ends. 
Overtake Cristiano Ronaldo Career goals total. 

[toby14]

Awesome save idea! Going to do be doing something similar as soon as the full release drops! 

So PSG accept £40m for Messi?

Also hope City signing Depay for £45m in your save isn't a one off! 

[WilsonJuve]

On 25/10/2022 at 15:34, toby14 said:

Awesome save idea! Going to do be doing something similar as soon as the full release drops! 

So PSG accept £40m for Messi?

Also hope City signing Depay for £45m in your save isn't a one off! 

Yes they accept £40m a couple of weeks into the game but before the season starts. And a few clubs offered for Depay but were stuck around £40m only City offered the £45m

[WilsonJuve]

First Update Season Start.

As the save is about Lionel Messi's return to Barcelona let's see how he is getting on.  As you can see from the screenshot he has made a sensational return to Camp Nou he has played every minute of the first 5 games and managed 4 goals and 5 assists. His 8.00 average puts him second in La Liga at this stage of the season which is a massive improvement from last seasons form at PSG. It's also worth noting this form has been achieved with Messi Occupying the AMR role in every game he has played. 

The reason Messi only ranks second in the average rating chart is the phenomenal record of fellow new signing Robert Lewandowski. As you can see the Polish international has proven that he can still score goals wherever he plays. His form this season includes 2 Hat-tricks in the first 2 games of the season then two single goal contributions followed by a brace in his last outing. If he carries on this form for the remainder of the season then he most likely would stop Messi from getting that illustrious 8th Ballon D'or.




Next up the league table and a couple of things will stand out. Yes we sit top of La Liga with a perfect start 5 from 5 but to be honest the only decent side we have played is Athletic Bilbao so this is not a reflection of how good the team or tactic is. Three games from now will see our first El Classico of the season as we host Real Madrid whose record and goal difference is extremely similar. We have chopped and changed our tactics a lot since pre season and are still trying to perfect certain problems. Despite winning all our games we have had a couple of 60minute stints without an highlight which can be extremely frustrating. 



As far as the other Competitions go we are about to play our first match in the Uefa Champions League where we have been handed a group with Bayern Munich (Lewandowski return) Benfica and Ferencravosi from Hungary who could be in big trouble.  On transfer deadline day we managed to shift Sergi Roberto to Tottenham for £5m but more importantly freeing up £80k from our wage budget. A couple of younger players from the B team and U19 have been put in rotation to fill the squad out and get them experience at the top level.

[WilsonJuve]

FC BARCELONA vs BAYERN MUNICH

Matchday two in the Champions League will see Robert Lewandowski play against his former club for the first time since his switch. Both teams currently top there domestic leagues and are in good from. Bayern Munich will want to make Lewandowski regret forcing the switch and keep their 100% record intact. Fans and pundits give Barcelona a minor edge in what should be a fascinating encounter. Prior to this game the last meeting between these two in Europe saw Bayern Munich humiliate Barcelona at Camp Nou with an emphatic 8-2 victory in the 2019-20 Quarter Finals a result which fans continue to mock there opponents about. 



The teams lineup as follows with Barcelona opting for Gavi and Kessie in midfield over Frankie De Jong and Ousmane Dembele starting on the left as Ansu Fati struggles with his fitness. Hector Ballerin's recent performances have earned him a starting birth on the right side of defence and youngsters Ilias Akomach, Alejandro Balde and Pablo Torre make the bench.
As for Bayern Munich Leon Goretzka misses the game due to being sent off in there first Champions League fixture and is replaced by Ryan Gravenberch and youngster Jamal Musiala gets the nod over the more experienced Leroy Sane on the wing.


As for the match itself.........what a performance! Barcelona get revenge with a masterful 6-1 win. Pedri was absolutely sensational and received the perfect 10 match rating after dominating the midfield and finishing with 2 goals and an assist to his name. Messi also managed a goal and assist which puts him on 4 goals in the competition so far after scoring 3 in the first game. And LewanGOALski managed to score either side of the half to silence the Bayern Munich faithful. Leroy Sane did manage to get a consolation goal for the visitors from a direct free kick but Barcelona remain unbeaten and fired up after the result.

[WilsonJuve]

FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid CF


 

The last decade has had two prominent figures attract attention: Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Argentine and the Portuguese, multiple winners of the Ballon d'Or, crossed paths with each other very often while they coincided in Spain. They did so in all competitions, not only in LaLiga but also Copa del Rey finals, Champions League semi-finals and even 'summer El Clásicos', with the Super Cup between Barça and Real Madrid a recurring event. 

Today we have Robert Lewandowski vs Karim Benzema both players hold the top two positions in the scoring charts and there teams both hold the top two positions in La Liga.

Barcelona currently have a 100% record in the league with 7 victories from the opening 7 games. They have however had a easy run of games playing none of last seasons top 7 clubs yet. Real Madrid also remain unbeaten but in their 6 games have managed 5 wins and 1 draw. As far as attacking football goes in one game more Barcelona have scored 5 more goals than Madrid but Madrid have only conceded 2 goals to Barcelona's 5.



Once again the betting companies put Barcelona as slight favourites in what will be a tight affair. Real Madrid will be without Luka Modric who is recovering from injury whilst Barcelona have no selection issues.


As far as team selection goes Hector Bellerin keeps his place in the starting line up after recent displays meaning the only change in the squad following the demolition of Bayern Munich is Frankie De Jong getting the nod over Frank Kessie in the centre of the park.

As for Real Madrid the main changes are Nacho and Mendy starting the game with Carvajal and Rudiger on the bench. The absence of Luka Modric who is recovering from his injury see's Tchouameni start in the CM position alongside Valverde with Modric sitting further back.


THE MATCH

Ok I know the purpose of this save was focused on Lionel Messi and one of my main dreams for the save was that 8th Ballon D'or but even at this early stage of the season (8 league games in) I think we can forget about that. Once again ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI is the main man with two goals, one of which was assisted by Messi see's him reach 16 yes SIXTEEN league goals in only 8 games so far this season and 18 in all competitions. Ansu Fati came off the bench to put the game to bed before Karim Benzema scored late on from a counter attack as Barcelona were playing very attacking in the hopes of a Lewandowski Hat-Trick in El Classico



With a long way still to go this keeps the club on an eight game win streak in the league and 10 games in all competitions. Though the next seven games of the season will see the challenge ramp up significantly the future games are as follows
H BENFICA UCL
A VALENCIA LA LIGA
A BENFICA UCL
A SEVILLA LA LIGA
A REAL SOCIEDAD LA LIGA
A BAYERN MUNICH UCL
H ATLETICO MADRID LA LIGA

Edited October 27, 2022 by WilsonJuve
fix

[WilsonJuve]

Season Update Before The World Cup Begins

So as mentioned in the previous post we had our trickiest run of games coming up before the winter World Cup break. Could we continue our 100% record in all competitions or would the fixture list finally get the better of us........


First up was the home game against Benfica where we managed a 4-1 victory with Robert Lewandowski getting his 4th Hat-Trick of the campaign. Valencia were up next and after a pretty tense first half we finished the game with a 4-2 victory away from home with Lewandowski scoring yet another Hat-Trick. Then came the purple patch, a single goal from Ramos saw Benfica snatch a 1-0 victory which was followed by a heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to Sevilla with the winner scored in the 90+5th minute. We came from behind to take a 2-1 lead before Gomez equalised and En-Nesryi stole the point away from us.
Next up was Real Sociedad and again the team lacked any real conviction. An early goal by Lewandowski was soon cancelled out by Sociedad and who then took the lead. Thankfully Lewandowski was there again to salvage a point with a 74th minute equaliser. 




Yes you can see from the screenshot we met Bayern Munich again in the Champions League and fair to say they were bitter after the 6-1 drubbing at Camp Nou and well........they say a picture says a thousand words.



We were completely outclassed from start to finish. We changed tactics, tempo, players you name it nothing worked. I don't think we had a single highlight until that first Lewandowski goal. He again was the only light in a very poor performance. Current form 4 games 1 draw 3 defeats Atletico Madrid to come. Im not sure if it was the embarrassment from the Bayern game or the rallying around after a team meeting but boy did we come back in style. 

Where do we start yes that name LEWANDOWSKI is there again 4 goals in the game. Ousmane Dembele with a goal and 3 assists everything went to plan. The first half surprisingly was a dull and awful display with one highlight for us and two for the visitors. Feeling like this dreadful run was going to continue I laid into the team at half time and criticised everyone individually. What followed was probably the best 45 minutes of football I have seen since I started playing these games in the Championship manager era. 




As for Europe we took a MASSIVE risk. Heading into the game the Table looked like this

                1. Bayern Munich 5 games 12 points
     2. Barcelona 5 games 9 points
3. Benfica 5 games 9 points
           4. Ferencavaros 5 games 0 points

With Benfica playing at home to Bayern Munich and us playing Ferencvaros at home we knew 3 points would be needed if Benfica won Bayern Munich. The problem was our squad was extremely tired with the run of fixtures and Lewandowski needed a rest. With such a small first team squad and a full rotation practically needed there was nobody to take up the ST position so I looked to my B team. In 11 games 18 year old Fabian Luzzi had managed 11 goals and that was enough for me to call him up to the biggest game of his career. I had my B and Youth teams training the first team tactic so knew he should be comfortable with the style of play.

We played pretty well considering only Ter Stegen, Kounde and Fati are usually regulars and managed to win 3-1. Luzzi got a dream debut goal disallowed in the 83rd minute and I was upset at the thought his chance had passed but in the 89th minute he finished off the game with a fantastic strike. 


Things looked to be back on track and up next was the Derbi Barceloni and Espanyol would want to ruin our revival in the last game before the World Cup.

Were Barcelona back???? Yes they were im not even going to write his name anymore but a certain somebody got another 4 goals to get to 7 Hat-Tricks for the season.



As I said before he was judged to have been robbed from the Ballon D'or a couple of times when playing in Germany but looking at these stats surely he cannot be overlooked this season. Messi is completely out of the race at this point. 29 League goals in only 13 games 7 goals in 5 UCL games . For a total of 36 goals in 18 games ncluding 7 Hat-Tricks in all competitions.

[Sonic Youth]

That’s some wild form there from Lewandowski!