The head of the state of Barcelona revealed that he was waiting for Lionel Messi's retirement

Josep Maria Bartomeu revealed that he was waiting for Lionel Messi to leave football.

One of the greatest players to have erected a football field, Messi has had a phenomenal career in Barcelona while he is idolized by fans around the world.

At age 31, the Argentinian continues to showcase his extraordinary talents week after week and shows no sign of abandonment.

However, Messi is reaching the stage of his career where footballers are often questioned about the future and longevity of their careers.

Sending to ESPN FC, Barcelona's president, Bartomeu, has congratulated his star man, but is fully aware of the fact that even the best players have their limits.

"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."

If the plans have not yet been implemented, they are being developed, as Bartomeu is looking to prepare the club for life after Messi has hung up his golden boots.

Bartomeu made a bold prediction as to when he expected the main man to announce the end of his career, indicating the steps taken for the club to be ready.

He said: "Maybe in three, four or five years, Leo Messi will say," Okay, I will stop playing football. "

"So we are preparing our club for the future, for the post-Leo, because we would still like to be the best club at that time."

Examples of these preparations are visible in the Barcelona team. The coach Ernesto Valverde has promising young talents such as Ousmane Dembele and Marc-André ter Stegen, who have the potential to become big stars.

For the moment, Bartomeu is keen to succeed in bringing Messi to a new contract with the Spanish giants, whom the "magician" has served admirably since the age of 13.

"He's young – you can see that [in his performances] – and he's still two years old on his contract, "said Bartomeu.

"He is constantly improving, always innovating.I think he still has many years ahead of him and in the coming months we are going to sit with him so that he still has a lot of things." 39 years in Barcelona. "

Far from discussions about contracts and speculation in retirement, Messi and his teammates are gearing up to host Atletico Madrid in La Liga at Camp Nou on Saturday night.

This precedes two games of the week against Manchester United in the Champions League quarterfinals, where Messi will strive to continue playing his role as one of the brightest stars in the biggest stage of the Champions League. 39; Europe.