It’s been the name on everybody’s lips since his contract started to get perilously close to ending but it seems that the future of Lionel Messi is still probably at Barcelona.<\/p>\n
Of course, he could play for any team in the world and TFF would love to see him plying his trade in the Premier League before the end of his career.<\/p>\n
But Messi was surely made for Barcelona and, as mouthwatering a prospect it is, we will probably never see him leave Spain.<\/p>\n
And that’s because Barcelona vice-president Jordi Metre has spoken publicly about Barca’s plans to start contract talks in the new year. He said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe negotiation with [Lionel] Messi has not started, but we hope that it will be defined during the first quarter of 2017.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Messi’s current contract expires in the summer of 2018 and, at just 29, he still has a good three to four years at the top level.<\/p>\n He has lost some of his pace in the last few years but adapted his game and now uses his head more than his once frightening pace.<\/p>\n Messi has played 116 times for Argentina and scored 57 goals in an epic career so far. His Barcelona record is ridiculous.<\/p>\n Now in his thirteenth season at the club he has scored 476 goals in 551 games for Barcelona.<\/p>\n He’s won La Liga eight times, the Copa Del Rey four times and the Champions League four times.<\/p>\n He’s also won the Ballon D’Or five times and who is to say he won’t win it again.<\/p>\n So, for all the hype, TFF can’t see Messi playing anywhere else but Barca.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"