Record Barcelona signing Ousmane Dembele could leave the club in the coming months – along with Lionel Messi – if the Catalonia region votes for independence in the upcoming referendum.
The Catalonia region is set to vote on an independence referendum on October 1st and if independence wins the ballot, big changes could be enforced for Barcelona.
Some polls have shown Barcelona would vote NO in a hypothetical referendum.Would Barc. then request a referendum to come out of Catalonia?
— Harpo Can Talk (@HarpoCanTalk) September 22, 2017
The possibility remains that the club would be forced out of La Liga – although it’s likely that rules would be changed to allow their continued presence in the Spanish league, as is already the case with Andorran clubs.
Diario Gol, though, report that top players could leave the club to continue their careers on the big stage in the unlikely event of the club being removed from the Spanish league structure.
On October 1, residents will flock to polling stations and, should they vote for the idea, then Barcelona may have to be forced to leave La Liga as a result.
And Don Balon says off-field politics could force Messi out.
The 30-year-old supposedly is wary of playing matches against the likes of Girona, Reus, Tarragona, and Lleida – particularly how he has shredded the defenses of Real Madrid, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, and Arsenal over the years.
He is also wary of how his name represents a huge brand and playing in a league of minnows could have a detrimental effect on that.
Additionally, Messi is yet to put pen to paper on a new contract.
And he is delaying any decision on his future until after the referendum – in the news that will prick the ears of Pep Guardiola over at Manchester City.
