Are Barcelona Really Better off Without Lionel Messi?

Barcelona without Lionel Messi is a travesty indeed for all football fans, not just those of the Blaugrana.

When a club's talisman is out of action for any period of time, the entertainment value, team dynamic and mood generally alters.

Perhaps with Barca more so than any other club given how integral the Argentinian is to almost every aspect of play.

So when suggestions are made that the club are actually better off without him in the side, it piques an interest.

Pete Jenson of the Daily Mail has made exactly that claim noting:

"

Statistics actually show that the Catalans can cope without their talisman - Barcelona win 71 per cent of games with Messi playing but a surprising 89 per cent when he's not in the side.

The Treble winners also score more and concede fewer goals without Messi on the pitch, while their average points per game rises from 2.3 to 2.7 when arguably the world's best player is unavailable. 

Nonetheless, Messi's loss does add to the pressure on the depth of Barcelona's squad. 

"

What Jenson fails to articulate is that the metrics he is using are, arguably, flawed. How can a definitive statement be made that Barca are better without Messi when the statistics are based on just 36 games without him and 278 with?

Surely to make a cogent argument one would need to even out the span of matches as a start point.

In the same article, it notes that Barca "score more and concede fewer." Statistically, 114 goals in 36 games is better than 726 in 268 games, but it's a pathetic point-scoring exercise to try and justify this as a basis for such comment.

It's clear to anyone with two eyes and even a basic understanding of football that Messi, 28, is the one player who makes Barcelona tick.

A player of such mesmerising dexterity and skill that he can win a game all on his own. A player who is individually beyond compare, but who is also is a vital element of the team as a whole. A player who drags the team up by the scruff of the neck when necessary, but who is happy to share the limelight and plaudits with his colleagues.

Not for him the pomp and circumstance of award ceremony after award ceremony, even if the same has come about only by virtue of the highest level of individual skill.

MICHAEL BUHOLZER/Getty Images

Team titles are all that interest the Barca No. 10. La Liga crowns, Champions League triumphs and Spanish Cup wins.

Ten goals in last season's Champions League was the fifth time he has top-scored in European football's premier competition. His goal against Athletic Club de Bilbao in the Spanish Cup final showed his genius to its fullest effect.

Goal after goal in the league campaign last season saw him top score once again for the club over the course of a season. His importance was not in doubt.

Already this season we've seen the effect of a Barcelona side sans Messi. To coin a phrase, 'No Messi, no party.' 

Take another look at the 90 minutes Barca played at Sevilla and then cast a cursory eye back over Jenson's facetious attempt at sensationalism. Statistics can be massaged to make the most convenient of arguments when required.

What Messi's absence does do, and has done, of course is give other teams a fillip before a ball has even been kicked. Barca themselves have looked devoid of ideas at times providing further impetus for their opponents to press high and work the Catalans hard defensively.

There isn't the outlet or the out-ball it would appear if Messi isn't on the pitch.

Can it really be logically argued that Barca are better off without their best-ever player in the starting XI?

You decide...