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FC Barcelona sporting director Robert Fernandez believes Lionel Messi will never step foot outside of Catalonia, closing the door on any chances of him joining another club in the future, as reported by Goal.
The Barcelona ace, who won a second treble with the La Liga outfit last term, was involved in speculations of a move away from the Camp Nou last season with Chelsea and Manchester City reportedly being interested to land the Argentine in the Premier League. Messi endured a rare dip in form in the initial period of the 2014/15 campaign which generated these rumours in the first place.
But the 28-year-old turned around the season in the second half as he hit form at the right time and inspired them to a historic second treble under manager Luis Enrique. And Fernandez has assured that the four-time Ballon d’Or winner won’t be leaving the La Liga for new pastures.
"Messi will play for the club for the rest of his life," said Fernandez. "He has many years of football left in him. Other people think not, but he's so intelligent positionally and knows where to be on the field at the right time.
"As people get older they lose things but he's smart enough to keep producing extraordinary performances. He has that gift."
Fernandez comments on Nolito-Barca rumours
Fernandez also expanded on reports linking the club with a move for former Barca forward Nolito over the summer. The Celta Vigo forward was signed in 2008 by the Blaugranas and he played for the senior team only on two occasions before he was sold off to Benfica in 2011.
The Spaniard has been again linked with a move to the Camp Nou and he himself has stated that he would leave only if the Catalan giants came knocking at his door.
"I would pay whatever fee is necessary for any Barcelona player, but you have to analyse things as well,” he continued. "Nolito was 15 when Luis Enrique was at Celta and knows him well."
With the international breaks going on this week, Messi featured in Argentina’s 7-0 thrashing of Bolivia from the bench as the prolific forward came off in the second half to score a brace for his side. It only took him less than a minute to get on the scoresheet. He would add another later on as three Argentina players scored a brace, including PSG’s Ezequiel Lavezzi and Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero.
Barcelona resume their La Liga campaign on September 13 as they travel to the Vincente Calderon to take on title contenders Atletico Madrid in a high-profile encounter.
