Bartomeu: Messi can stay with Barcelona 'forever' if he wants
Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu says star player Lionel Messi is welcome to stay with the club "forever," as the Blaugrana prepare to begin contract negotiations with the Argentine in the next few months.
The 29-year-old is currently contracted to the club until June of 2018, and Bartomeu says locking down the club's iconic figure is an important priority this season.
Messi has been linked with a move away from Barcelona as he approaches his 30s, including rumours of a return to Newell's Old Boys or a reunion with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
But Bartomeu says Messi can stay at the Camp Nou as long as he'd like.
"(Messi) has all the years he wants (with Barcelona)," Bartomeu told ESPN FC. "Lionel Messi is the best ever to play football in the history of the world and he plays with us. We are very happy, he is very important for the club, he's very important for the fans, he's very important for football itself.
"And Lionel Messi in the next coming months of course we are going to talk with him because he knows, he already knows that he has a contract forever. There is not a limit with him.
"The limit will be decided by him and right now he is 29 years old, he is talented, he is ambitious, and he's in perfect shape to continue for many more years."