Barcelona confirms Lionel Messi's future plans, Ansu Fati signs new deal with club: Barcelona Transfer Roundup, 5th December 2019

Hello and welcome to Sportskeeda's Daily Barcelona Transfer Roundup.

The way things are going at the top of the La Liga table, there is reason to believe that we'll see a lot of activity in the winter transfer window. With Ousmane Dembele sidelined for about 2 months, Barcelona are expected to find short term solutions that will help them retain the La Liga title this time around.

Let's take a look at the top transfer news, rumours and updates involving Barcelona that made the headlines on 5 December 2019.

Philippe Coutinho says he made the right decision to leave Barcelona

Philippe Coutinho in action for Bayern Munich against Crvena Zvezda in the UEFA Champions League

Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho is currently in Germany plying his trade for Bayern Munich. He is on loan from Barcelona till the end of the 2019-20 season. After enduring a difficult yet short-lived spell at Barcelona, the Brazilian says that he has no regrets about making the decision to move from Catalonia.

He said,

"(Former Brazil defender) Lucio always said how good it was to play for Bayern Munich," "There was no doubt that I wanted to come. I felt comfortable from the first moment and I am 100 percent sure I made the correct decision."

Coutinho's latest comments come on the back of his declaration that he would like to kick on at Bayern Munich if afforded the opportunity.

In a meeting with the supporters' clubs, he had said,

"My plans involved staying here this year and focusing on that, but if everything fits I would love to stay."

Ansu Fati signs new 3-year deal with Barcelona

Ansu Fati

Barcelona have confirmed today that Ansu Fati, who arrived at the club in 2012 at the age of 10, has signed a brand new contract which will see him sport the red and blue until 2022. The new contract places his release clause at a whopping €170 million. That figure will rise to €400 million once he makes the cut for the first team.

Barcelona said,

"Anssumane Fati (31/10/2002) has made a meteoric rise to fame since arriving at the club in 2012 when he was just ten years of age.

"He has gone on to become the youngest Barça player to ever score a Liga goal when he was just 16 years and 304 days old, and he is also the youngest Barça player to start a game at Camp Nou or appear in the Champions League."

Ansu Fati was expectedly delighted and added,

"For me, La Masia is the best school in the world. They helped me from the first day I arrived and I am extremely grateful to everyone who works there. They are all spectacular. From the first day I have learned things from everyone. And they have also been there to support me through difficult times.

“Working every day with the best is a dream, and also a reward. From now onwards, what I have to do is keep working, even harder than ever, to keep getting chances and carryon on enjoying myself. The rest will come after.”

Lionel Messi will be around for a while longer

Of course he is staying

If Barcelona fans have been wondering about Lionel Messi's future as he trudges on into the final phase of his career, there is reason to rejoice. The Barcelona legend, who won his 6th Ballon d'Or a couple of days back, decided to throw some light on the issue of his retirement. He said,

"I hope, and God willing, I can play for many more years.

"I'm already 32 years old, on my way to 33 and, as I said long ago, it all depends on how I feel physically.

"Today I feel better than ever on a personal level and hopefully I can stretch it out much more,"

To add to that, Josep Maria Bartomeu echoed the sentiment and affirmed that Messi is set to stay for longer. He said,

"[Let's have some] calm. Messi will be around for a while longer."