Barcelona names five players who will fill the void when Lionel Messi will leave

Barcelona is about to give Lionel Messi a contract extension – but they still have an eye on the future.

The iconic Argentinian will turn 32 in June and Barcelona's president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, has confessed that he was already preparing for a period during which he will no longer be able to call on his services.

Despite the challenge of Messi, his retirement, Bartomeu insists that he is in a strong position to enter a new era.

He identified five players as the men who will lead the Catalan giants in the post-Messi era: namely Ousmane Dembele, Clement Lenglet, Arthur Melo, Frenkie De Jong and Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Bartomeu told ESPN FC: "Maybe in three, four or five years, Leo Messi will say," OK, I'm going to stop playing football. "

"So we are preparing our club for the future, for the after-Leo, because we would like to remain the best club at that time, so it's a way to work, to get the best out of it. invest, but also to take risks.

"We invest in young players, the local players of La Masia, but also in the recruitment of players from other clubs, just to maintain this level of excellence.

"Sometimes I explain to club members and the board that we are trying to get very young players into the club.

"The young players we think we have a lot of talent: [Clement] Lenglet, Ousmane Dembele, Arthur Melo, Frenkie de Jong and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are still very young.

"There are many players who will continue to play after the Messi era."

Ter Stegen is already an established member of the Ernesto Valverde team, while Dembele, Arthur and Lenglet have made significant progress this season.

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