Yes they have fucked it. Before I got pinked from my newspaper app a lot of people said Barca have fucked it. I don't know how to fix them. Apparently Messi has told them he's off
Oh its not hard to fix em. They still got tremendous name value, income, and zero problems making the CL each year. They can still pick and chose and most players will heed their call.
You just need the backup from the higher ups to build a new team with a definite idea, which will take a little time.
They didn't quite know what to do lately. They tried to force it by buying expensive and flashy, and failed. Just look at their transfer work after Neymar left:
Coutinho, Dembele, Paulinho, Semedo, Yerry Mina, Marlon, Malcom, Lenglet, Arthur, Vidal, Griezman, de Jong just to name the most important.
They either have failed to make an impact, or are simply shit and / or old, or already gone again. All the while their great players went out of their prime more and more.
I rate de Jong but you can't have him shoulder that kind of pressure yet. He also didn't look fit lately. And Griezman certainly can still play an important role, maybe even Coutinho. Build a team around them, it can work. But Messi won't have that. Dembele seems a lost cause.
I doubt Messi leaves unless the club wants him to. He should still command a big fee even with only a year of contract left. As the commercial revenue he brings is crazy.
City would take him, no doubt about that. But I wonder if pep would be quite as keen if he stays. He would need to structure his team around a 33 year old that does not help defensively in a new and more demanding league. I dunno if that is smart business apart from the commercial angle.
I rather see PSG and Inter as more sensible destinations if it should happen.
Best for Barca is for Messi to stay but be okay with not playing the first fiddle anymore. Messi as inspiration for the new generation and as deadly threat from the bench.