Lionel Messi: Has La Liga become a nightmare after losing some of the world's best players?
Is the era of Ronaldo and Messi over?
No Lionel Messi, no Cristiano Ronaldo - How will La Liga and the Clasico rivalry be?
The focus of the world of football has shifted to the future of La Liga after parting ways with Messi, one of the world's most famous footballers.
On Sunday Messi in tears said goodbye to Barcelona and his team-mates and fans in Spain after Barca decided to part with him because they could not pay him his salary.
La Liga, known as the home of the Galacticos, has been a hotbed of world-class football, especially due to the strength of Barcelona and Real Madrid, two of Spain's biggest rivals.
Although parting ways with the legendary footballer is nothing new because Messi's contemporaries have already switched sides from La Liga.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have lived in a time when the history of La Liga and the rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid will never be forgotten.
In 2018, Ronaldo, who has scored more goals in Real Madrid history than winning the Champions League four times, moved to Juventus, a move that has attracted international attention. And like Messi the issue of money is one of the reasons why Ronaldo left La Liga for Serie A.
Rivalry in La Liga has been hot in the days of the BBC (Benzema, Bale and Cristiano) in Madrid and MSN (Messi, Suarez and Neymar) in Barcelona.
Now only Benzema and Suarez remain in La Liga - Benzema at Real Madrid, Luis Suarez at Atletico Madrid.
But despite the break-up of Ronaldo and other top-flight players from the BBC and MSN, La Liga continues to thrive for Messi.
The rivalry has shifted between Messi and former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos, following Ronaldo's departure.
Ramos joined PSG in June 2021 after 16 years at Real Madrid.
It is now morning in La Liga without Messi, Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos and there is no certainty as to who will succeed them for the rest of the season.
Is Messi's absence a disadvantage ?
Messi won 35 trophies for Barcelona
Messi, 34, has spent 21 years at Barcelona and has won the World Player of the Year award six times.
Messi has scored 672 goals in 778 appearances for Barcelona, winning the club 35 trophies.
Analysts say Messi's absence will reduce La Liga's prestige and popularity. But La Liga president Javier Tebas says the Barcelona and Argentina captain's departure will not change anything.
Tebas said the competition will not depend on one player or another team saying many prominent players are gone and nothing has changed.
He cites the example of Ronaldo and Neymar saying they have gone but the Serie A and League 1 relegation contests will not be able to compete with La Liga.
He said the English Premier League was the most popular in the world and had achieved this feat without producing a World Player of the Year.
He added that although La Liga's opponents will be happy with Messi's departure, he is confident that it will not change anything.
However, many commentators and football fans see the departure of Messi as a major blow to La Liga's reputation.
Some think La Liga will suffer a setback in its revenue. And La Liga will be weaker compared to Ronaldo's Serie A and the competition will be bigger for Messi
Barca - not Messi
Sergio, Pique, Alba and Roberto are the players who will lead Barcelona following Messi's departure
Thousands of Barcelona fans stormed Messi's home in a bid to bid farewell to his talent.
Their photos are shown wearing a Barcelona number 10 shirt.
It is thought that a large number of Barcelona fans will continue to support Messi who won them every trophy they need in football.
La Liga kicks off on Friday, and critics see Messi's absence as a blow to Barcelona.
Barcelona started life without Messi on Sunday and started on the right foot.
Barcelona beat Juventus 3-0 in the Gamper Cup, their autumn qualifier. New signing Memphis Depay continues to shine in autumn, scoring against Juventus three minutes from time.
This can be a great opportunity for developing players, who as a result of Messi are not given the opportunity to excel.