What if Barcelona didn't have Messi & Messi didn't have Xavi, Iniesta & co?

Before any criticism is directed at me for the title of this post, let me start by qualifying my personal opinion:
I am old enough to have seen many great players gracing the world game in almost 40 years as a serious football fanatic, and have watched most classic matches before my time in the 1950s & 60s to see the best of those era in action.

Based on that, I admire Messi as one of, if not the most skillful & graceful player of all time. At the same time, I rate the Barcelona team of the last decade (from Frank Rijkaard days as a coach to now) as one of the greatest teams of all time, both at club & national level.

Having stated the above, when Messi did not return after the half time due to an injury in the quarter final clash in the Champions League against PSG, it became more than ever clear to me that Messi & Barcelona must win titles without each other in order to be crowned as the greatest individual player & best team of all time respectively:

Here's the simple reason why:

Messi has won everything with the support of the incomparable Xavi & Iniesta, who have in turn led other hugely talented players in support of Messi. This was evident with the inch perfect pass of Daniel Alvez to Messi for his goal vs PSG. Therefore, Messi needs to prove his leadership qualities in a team which does not include Xavi & Iniesta in particular! ie he must lead Argentina to the World Cup triumph in order to displace Pele & Maradona from their nominal & arbitrary position as the greatest players of all time.

And the reverse simply applies to Barcelona! They are the most watched & copied team in the world & football fans across the world are lucky to be following football in the era of Barcelona, Messi & co. But Barcelona must win the Champions League & La Liga without Messi & his goal scoring feasts in order to become the undisputed best team of all time!

I repeat again,this post is not arguing the magnificent & graceful football of Barcelona & Messi! I am in awe like millions of other fans around the world! But the little niggling matter of "what if Barcelona didn't have Messi & Messi didn't have Xavi & Iniesta" continues to circle in my head every time I watch Barcelona & Messi, as I am sure it does in many other football fans' heads!