Sad Messi, happy Messi. One day he is sobbing at a press conference in Barcelona, the next he is beaming as he arrives in Paris. These will remain the lasting images of European football's summer of 2021, one of the wildest summers in recent memory. The Lionel Messi transfer, arguably the most significant one in the last decade or so, dominated the story ahead of the 2021-22 season.
All the mouth-watering transfers aside, it has been an exhausting year or two for top players. Particularly since June 2020, it was a marathon run for them—closing out the remainder of the Covid-interrupted 2019-20 season, jumping into a tightly packed 2020-21 season, before finally joining their national teams for their respective continental tournaments.
And so, after finally getting a month off—except the likes of Pedri and Richarlison who were even at the Olympics!—the players return to their domestic clubs. This time, with the added bonus of fans being back in full force in the stadiums. Commentators and pundits at the pre-season matches have already said that the change in atmosphere is a world of difference and the players are benefiting from it.
Players will be keen to peak this season in hopes of getting picked by their national coaches ahead of next year's World Cup. The Qatar edition is scheduled for November 2022—another interrupted domestic season—but coaches will finalise their teams by this time next year, which makes this season crucial for players desperate for a look-in.
As the action returns, a look at what is in store for Europe's big five leagues:
Premier League
The English league has outrightly been the most competitive tournament in Europe for the last few seasons. Every year, at least five or six clubs harbour strong title hopes. This time is no different. Reigning English champions Manchester City and European champions Chelsea have bolstered their squads with the two most expensive signings in English football history—Jack Grealish and Romelu Lukaku. With Manchester United also bringing in Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane, the three clubs are looking loaded.
After a dream 2019-20 season for Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp’s men looked jaded last season. Squad depth is a worry, but having returned from a much-needed break, we could expect a better fight from the Reds. Leicester City remain the side that proves to be a thorn in the side of the big boys and can never be ignored, particularly under Brendan Rodgers.
Strong as they are, City are not expected to run away with the title year. With their bench strength, they should be able to survive the packed schedule, but Chelsea and United will not make things easy for Pep Guardiola’s superstars.
La Liga
The captains—also the two biggest icons of the league—of Real Madrid and Barcelona have left for Paris St Germain. Long-serving Sergio Ramos and Lionel Messi were dumped out of their teams, robbing the Spanish league of a huge chunk of viewership and appeal. Even Zinedine Zidane is no more around. It is possibly the lowest point for Spain's big duo, following years of overspending and mismanagement and that failed bid to start a European Super League. The rift between the two and the league officials has never been wider.
The obvious beneficiaries are title-holders Atletico Madrid. Their summer has not been as eventful as their more illustrious rivals, but they will be wary of their ability to bounce back from ongoing woes. The season has been thrown wide open, and there is much for each of the top teams to prove in a bruised league.
Serie A
Inter Milan ended a decade of Juventus domination by winning the Italian league title with a supercharged team managed by Antonio Conte. Then financial troubles hit, and Conte was the first to go. Romelu Lukaku also followed him out the door, among other players. While Inter is left to start from scratch, the rest of the league, and its fans, will be looking forward to the new season with much excitement in light of the country's success at the Euros and the new style of play that has percolated through the league.
Jose Mourinho, ever the enigma, returns to Italy, this time in charge of AS Roma. Former Chelsea and Juventus coach Mauricio Sarri also returns to the touchline with Lazio. The biggest managerial return though is that of Massimiliano Allegri to his former hunting ground, Juventus. The title race should be between his Cristiano Ronaldo-led side, a depleted Inter and a resurgent AC Milan. Unless Jose has other plans.
Bundesliga
The least discussed among the big leagues this time has been the German Bundesliga. When Bayern Munich aren't poaching the best players from title rivals (are there even rivals anymore?), they are taking their managers. This time, they have roped in second-placed RB Leipzig's head coach (Julian Nagelsmann) AND their best player (defender Dayot Upamecano). It is almost as if other German clubs function to feed Bayern now.
Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund has lost English star Jadon Sancho but managed to hold on to the bigger Norwegian star Erling Haaland, who is single-handedly making the team a force. With the arrival of striker Andre Silva, Leipzig are not looking too bad either. And world player of the year Robert Lewandowski is eyeing the hallowed 300-goal mark (he now has 277) to become only the second—and perhaps the fastest—player to that number, after Gerd Mueller.
A tenth successive title for Bayern is a no-brainer. The others don't even come close.
Ligue 1
Speaking of one-club dominance, PSG's hold on the French league was challenged when Lille pipped the Parisiens to the title. And, they took it personally. PSG did what PSG did best. They bought. Gigi Donarumma, Sergio Ramos, Gini Wijnaldum, Achraf Hakimi and the biggest fish of them all, Lionel Messi. It is the closest that comes to Real Madrid's legendary Galacticos side of the 2000s, and the whole world will be tuning in to watch the Messi-Neymar-Mbappe attack this time.
With the domestic league title race a foregone conclusion this time, PSG's focus will be solely on winning the one prize that has long eluded it—the Champions League. And while the club has ushered in global superstars, Lille's summer was just the opposite, as they not only saw an exodus of players, but their coach Christophe Galtier left too... to join bitter rivals Nice.
FC Monaco had an exciting summer with the arrival of high-rated youngster Ismail Jakobs and goalkeeper Alexander Nubel, giving them some hope of a title push. Along with Lille, Monaco could disturb PSG’s rhythm, but that is as far as they will go.
