Joan Laporta claims Lionel Messi wants to stay at Barcelona beyond this season
- Joan Laporta is positive that Barcelona captain Messi will stay at the club
- Lionel Messi has been linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain and Man City
- Barcelona are currently occupying second position on the Spanish La Liga table
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Joan Laporta who is one of the presidential candidates at Barcelona has stated emphatically that the club's captain Lionel Messi wants to remain at the Camp Nou despite having five months left on his contract.
This declaration made by Joan Laporta will come as a welcome development for all Barcelona fans considering how they have been expecting Lionel Messi to sign a new deal.
Before the start of the ongoing League season in Europe, Barcelona almost lost Lionel Messi as the Argentine handed a transfer request after a disappointing season.
Lionel Messi was not happy with Barcelona's failure in the Champions League losing against German giants Bayern Munich and also how they failed to win any title last season in all competitions.
Coach Setien suffered the consequence of those failures as he was sacked and replaced with Ronald Koeman who persuaded Lionel Messi to stay.
Joan Laporta was Barcelona's president between 2003 and 2010 and it was under him that Lionel Messi broke into the Catalans' first team.
According to the report on Daily Mail, Joan Laporta explained that Lionel Messi would continue his career at Barcelona despite being linked with Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
''I have indications that he feels good at Barcelona and that he wants to stay here.
''It's not Messi who has ruined the club, it's the last board who lost their financial discipline back in 2015 and then lost their way after selling Neymar in 2017.''
Source: Getty Images
Earlier, Legit.ng had reported how former Brazilian international Caio Ribeiro stated that fellow countryman and PSG star Neymar is the best player in the world at the moment ahead of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
He believes Neymar has faced several criticisms throughout his career but has now risen to the top of his game.
Neymar came to limelight during his stint with local club Santos and made a blockbuster switch to Spanish club Barcelona where he stunned the world.
He thrived alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at Camp Nou, finishing third in the 2015 Ballon d’Or vote.
Neymar is considered to have retained that individualist spirit that many players in the modern game lack, but his lifestyle could be affecting his shine.
Source: Legit.ng
