Transfer News: Real Madrid plan staggering €540m transfer splurge on six players, Barcelona president makes big claim on Lionel Messi's future, and more: 3rd May 2019

Barcelona president claims Messi will be a one-club man

"He will never leave"

Lionel Messi, like wine, seems to be getting better with age. Despite being 31-years-old, the Barcelona superstar has been simply unstoppable this season, scoring 48 goals and assisting 19 in 47 matches across all competitions.

Now, as per reports from Goal.com (via The Guardian) Barcelona's president, Josep Maria Bartomeu has insisted that Messi will never leave Barcelona and that he is a one-club man. Speaking about Messi and his future, he said:

"He might even play until he's 45, who knows? We know he'll play three, four, five years more, we don't know how many – as many as he wants.

"We're preparing. Players like [Ousmane] Dembele, [Clement] Lenglet, Arthur are there to build a team for when Messi stops playing, but I still see it as a long way off. I don't think that day is near."

"We are talking to the family but it's very early to say. He's a footballer. So we talk football, but he will stay here with us. He's a club man. Leo belongs to world football, but he has always lived at Barca. He will be a one-club man. Leo will never leave. He'll stop playing, but he'll always be with us."