Former Barcelona scout Andre Cury believes Lionel Messi will stay at Barcelona beyond this season. The Argentine is yet to reveal his decision as his contract expires in the summer.
Andre Cury was a Barcelona scout for years before he was cut from their books last summer. The scout was a key figure in bringing Neymar to the Catalan club back in 2013 but was cut off after the club restructured its scouting system.
Andre Cury is convinced Lionel Messi will be renewing his deal with Barcelona after a change in the club's presidency. The former scout believes the Argentine has a great relationship with the new president, Joan Laporta, and many positive things are happening at the club.
While talking to Radio Continental (via Marca), he said:
"I am almost certain that Leo is going to stay at Barcelona. He is going to be happy there again and there will be a new team that will play well, and in one or two years he will be number one in the world again.
"Leo's home is Barcelona and Argentina. Leo loves Argentina; he plays with all his strength in the national team, and at Barcelona as well. What bothered him is that he wanted a competitive team. And the truth is that the club told him they were going to do it; that they were going to do one thing and they did another. Leo was left out of it.
"I know Messi's history at Barcelona. He had a very good relationship with [Joan] Laporta and now he's back. There are a lot of positive things [happening at the club]."
Will Lionel Messi stay at Barcelona?
Lionel Messi wanted to leave Barcelona last summer as he was unhappy with how Josep Bartomeu ran the club. However, he did not want to take the club to court and decided to stay put for another season.
Manchester City and PSG have always shown interest in signing Lionel Messi and are waiting to pounce on the chance of getting him. The Argentine has revealed he will be making a decision at the end of the season, but the Barcelona hierarchy are confident of keeping him at the club.