Lionel Messi will end his career at Barcelona, asserts Josep Bartomeu
FC Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu has stated that Lionel Messi will end his career at the Catalan club in spite of recent reports suggesting otherwise. The Argentine has been a revolutionary figure in Camp Nou since making his first appearance back for the senior side, in 2004.
Barcelona have never been short of trophies since Lionel Messi joined their ranks back in 2004, with the Argentine being at the forefront of things ever since. But a recent glitch between the Argentine and the club management has opened up speculations of him moving elsewhere after his contract ends in 2021. But Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu is convinced that the talismanic forward will end his career at the Catalan club.
"Messi has said he will end his working and footballing life at Barca. I'm not going to explain the details because we are focused on the competition and we are negotiating with many players but Messi has explained to us that he wants to stay and so we're going to enjoy him for much longer," said Josep Bartomeu, to Spanish network Movistar.
Messi, who last signed a contract in 2017, was not too happy with the way the club was working in recent times, with no news of extending his stay at Camp Nou. The forward also criticized the way Barcelona handled pay cuts of their players during the lockdown and also their transfer policy back in September, following a failed attempt to re-sign Brazilian Neymar from Paris Saint Germain.