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Sam Marsden
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Moises Llorens
BARCELONA, Spain – Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu said in an exclusive interview with ESPN FC that he wanted Lionel Messi to remain forever bound to the club and that he plans to sit down soon with the attacker to discuss the extension of his contract.
Messi signed an agreement less than two years ago that runs until the summer of 2021, which would bring him at the age of 34.
The Argentine international shows no signs of slowing down on the ground. He has already scored 42 goals in all competitions this season and Bartomeu is already thinking about his next professional contract at Camp Nou.
"We want him to have a very long career so he can continue to enjoy it," Bartomeu said. "Lionel has managed to break down the borders, everyone admires him and he is applauded at other stadiums by rival fans.
"We would like to renew his contract, that's the idea.He is young – you can see that [in his performances] – and he is still two years old in his market. It always improves, always innovates. I believe that he still has many years ahead of him and in the coming months we will sit with him so that he still has many years in Barcelona.
"Messi is a man from a club.It's more than what he does on the field.His relationship with Barca will last forever.I'm using the example of Pelé , who was still in Santos, we want Messi always to be in Barca, whether playing or club-bound [when he’s retired]. "
Messi is already the Barca's record scorer with 594 goals and recently beat Andres Iniesta to become the second most successful player in the club's history (676). Only Xavi Hernandez (767) did more.
Since Messi debuted in 2004, Barca has been more successful in the field than at any other time in his history. They have won eight of the last 11 titles in La Liga and four of their five Champions League victories have accompanied him. They have also won the last four Copa del Reys.
However, a day will come when Messi hangs up his boots and Bartomeu says that it is important that Barca be prepared for life without him.
"Messi has completely changed the meaning of Barca," added the president. "To keep our club at the top [in terms of] results, [winning the] best competitions and trying to win each season. Messi knows his body well and the day he thinks he can not add [what he wants], he will leave. [We have] to prepare for the future. Leo Messi is our leader, he is the best player in the world of football, he plays with us, he plays fantastically, but we know it will not be forever.
"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 post-Leo, because we would like to remain the best club at that time, so it's a way to work, to 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."
Barça hope Messi can lead them to the third Treble in their history this season. They are eight points ahead of the La Liga for the Copa del Rey final and have a draw in the quarterfinals of the Champions League against Manchester United. April 10th.
United has not won the Premier League since Sir Alex Ferguson retired and asked if the eventual departure of Messi could unleash a similar period of bad luck at Barca. Bartomeu said, "Yes, that's exactly what we're working on [avoiding].
"Sometimes I tell club members and the board that we are currently bringing very young players to the club, the young players we think are very talented: [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."
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