Victor Font, the candidate for the presidency of Barcelona, said
that Lionel Messi should remain in the “Blaugrana” to lead the
team until the end of his football career and play a strategic role
upon his retirement.
Reports indicate that the best player in the world six times and
Barcelona’s best scorer ever is close to leaving the Catalan club
in August, in the wake of his relationship with the then-club president
Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Font, who actively contributed to the campaign against Bartomeu
that led to his resignation in October and is the favorite to win
the January 24 election, believes that the best player in the world
can be persuaded to stay at the Camp Nou.
“When you are lucky enough to have the best player in the world
on your team, you have to keep that talent,” Sky Sports quoted
Font as saying.
He added, “If Messi goes to a competitor, we will not easily find
a replacement because there is no alternative to him. That is why
keeping him in the short term is very important.”
He continued, “The relationship between Messi and Barcelona is
a strategic one, and we want to make sure that we create the appropriate
conditions for him to play a role in the club even after his retirement.
Messi can offer a lot of ideas.”
Font convinced Messi to stay with Barcelona on Xavi Hernandez,
who promised to choose him as manager and coach of the team,
saying: “Messi needs to be convinced that we have a successful
competitive project and Xavi can play a decisive role in our doing so.”
