Barcelona club president Josep Maria Bartomeu has revealed the club are planning for Lionel Messi’s retirement by indicating that the club’s transfer policy is being geared towards planning for life without him
“I know one day Lionel will say he’s retiring,” Bartomeu told BBC.
“We have to prepare the club for the future, we are bringing great young players to the team because we need to continue this era of success. That’s our responsibility.
“My mandate will be finished in two seasons. So I need to leave the club in a great position and tell the new president ‘that’s our legacy’.”
The 31-year-old has scored 581 goals in 665 games for the Spanish giants
Neymar, 25, was the natural successor to Messi but he was sold to Paris ST-Germain in a record-breaking £200 million at the start of last season.
Ousmane Dembele, 21, is another player the club have high hopes for but the Frenchman has been inconsistent since making a £97 million move from Borrusia Dortmund in August 2017.
Barca have already moved to secure one of Europe’s hottest properties after they agreed to pay Ajax £67 million for Frankie de Jong.
The midfielder has already signed but will spend the rest of the season in Holland before moving to Spain at the end of the campaign.
De Jong says he hopes to emulate Messi by staying at the Camp Nou for the rest of his career and becoming a club legend, as reported by The Express.
Messi has already announced his retirement for the Argentine national team after the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
He has spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he has won a club-record 32 trophies, including nine La Liga titles, fourUEFA Champions league titles and six Copas del Rey.