Barcelona News: Lionel Messi will have 10 statues at renovated Camp Nou – Bartomeu

Barcelona will honor Lionel Messi with 10 statues at Camp Nou when the Argentinian star hangs up his boots, joked club president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

Five-time winner of the Golden Ball, Messi is the player who scored the most points in the history of Barca, scoring his 600th goal for the club thanks to a magnificent free kick in a semi-final of the Champions League 3-0, winner of the first leg against Liverpool on Wednesday. .

The 31-year-old – hired at the club until 2021 – increased to 33 the number of trophies won by the Catalan giants by sealing the Liga La Liga last weekend, the first piece of silverware on a potential treble for men of Ernesto Valverde this season.

The Barca will no doubt hope that Messi will still be there when the renovation and expansion of Camp Nou, which will have an extra roof and a capacity of 105,000 people, will be completed in 2023.

Asked if a statue of Messi will join that of Ladislao Kubala at the modernized stadium, Bartomeu said L & # 39; Observer: "There will be 10!

"I would not even give him the Golden Ball. He's beyond that now, in a category of its own.

"There are some great players, but he is in another dimension."

Messi helped Barca win a tenth league title during his stay at Camp Nou last week with a 1-0 home victory over Levante. Messi scored the winner in the second half.

And the team is on the brink of winning a second European and national hat-trick in five seasons, with a Copa del Rey final against Valencia coming in May as well as the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Liverpool.

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The win for the title marks Barca's eighth win in 10 seasons, and Messi has shown no signs of slowing down as he heads for the twilight of his career.

His five wins at the Golden Ball are a record for this award, an honor he shares with his longtime rival and former Real Madrid striker, Cristiano Ronaldo.