Bartomeu at SPORT gala: Barcelona want Lionel Messi forever

FC Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu was one of the special guests at the Festa de l'Esport Català 2016 and took advantage of his appearance to once again talk about Lionel Messi's relationship with the club, saying that he expects the Argentine to remain at Camp Nou for a long time to come. 

The Barça chief, who had a bust day on Tuesday, which ended with the event organised by SPORT, where he accompanied Barça handball manager Xavi Pascual, who collected the prize for Best Catalan Coach of 2016. Mireia Belmonte and Saúl Craviotto were the big stars of the soiree.

Bartomeu, who spoke with SPORT for a few minutes at the event, briedly spoke about the subjects which had dominated the previous hours, such as the reduction of Real Madrid's transfer ban by CAS. 

But his words on Messi had special relevance as the club begin to think about offering him a new deal. The Barça president was optimistic and said "both sides are keen to continue. On Leo's side, to continue in Barcelona; and on Barça's side, that Leo continues." 

Bartomeu insisted that "Messi is the best player in the world and we will reach an agreement and he will continue because he's still very young. He's 29 and his performances are at the top level and he will continue here for many more years."

And he added: "I don't think it's inconvenient for him to continue here forever. Well, until he retires from football."