They often say the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The cynical would say the poor who get poorer get themselves stuck in their own problems and should not be considered.

This certainly seems to be the attitude of some in the Barcelona camp as things go from bad to worse. And the one person who apparently feels the only way to be freed from problems is to escape them is Lionel Messi.

The rumors have reached an all-time high regarding a possible departure. It seems these days any mention of Messi includes quotes about his time with Barcelona being finished, which team can afford him and how much more he costs that Cristiano Ronaldo.

Often these rumors are taken with a grain of salt, but for once, there is an ominousness in the air.

Things got off to a rocky start when Barcelona was denied its appeal to make transfers in 2015. Then there were scenes of Messi fighting with coach Luis Enrique. Then Messi was benched at Anoeta against Real Sociedad, leading to even more speculation about the relationship between player and coach. Then the loss came in that very game, furthering the turmoil. Then sporting director Andoni Zubizarretta was fired.

And now it looks like the superstar, who is in his prime years, might be looking to get out of the mess to play out his best years in another country.

Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and Chelsea are huge talking points these days, especially after Messi started following Chelsea's Instagram Account (he also follows Barcelona and Manchester City). Messi apparently considered leaving last summer with friend Cesc Fabregas, and it might not be out of the question at this point. His best friend Sergio Aguero and a number of Argentine players are at Manchester, so that might be attractive for the superstar. And Paris has the money and a few Argentine players in its roster.

As discussed, Barcelona is going to have to go into full rebuild in the next year as it will have to rely not only on current roster players but also youngsters in La Masia. While Barcelona certainly has the resources to rebuild quickly, it will likely be unable to make an impact signing until the summer of 2016, when Messi would be 29 and nearing the end of his peak years.

At this point, the turmoil makes Barcelona a very unattractive place to play in. His friends from the glory years are all starting their decline or have already left. He has won everything there is to win with Barcelona and has broken every essential record. It might simply be time to go elsewhere and look to build on his legacy. He could further his legend by winning trophies with another team and prove to naysayers his success with Barcelona was not solely attributable to having a great team.

For Barcelona, this is a disaster. For the last few years, the team has struggled to remain at the top and has often relied on its superstar to carry the day. Who can forget the way Barcelona was dismantled 7-0 over two legs by Bayern Munich in the 2012-13 Champions League semifinals? Without Messi at full form in those games, the team lacked any attacking threat and was too easy to pick off. Neymar and Luis Suarez add new presence up front. But no one knows Barcelona's game the way Messi does, and no one can lead the team the way he can.

Losing Messi means losing 40-50 goals a season in all competitions at the minimum. Neymar has never hit that many for his new club (albeit this is his second season). And Suarez, for all of his greatest, only achieved that feat once in his career, and it was in 2009-10 with Ajax. Even by committee, there is no actual way this team can recover the goals Messi scores with such ease and brilliance.

Is Messi's time with Barcelona finished?