Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu opens up on Lionel Messi saga

Beleaguered Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has given himself a pat on the back for convincing Lionel Messi to stay at the Nou Camp.

Messi had his heart set on leaving the Catalan giants this summer and joining former boss Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

The Argentine superstar was convinced a clause in his contract allowed him to leave Barcelona for free, but the club and La Liga rejected his claims.

Messi eventually agreed to stay for another season and will now be allowed to leave for nothing next summer.

And Bartomeu, who faces a no-confidence vote in November over his presidency, insists the club have now moved on.

“I won’t get into any conflict with him. He’s our captain and the leader of our team,” he told Catalan television network TV3.

“I couldn’t let him leave the club, he is the best player of all time and the team needs him. Having Messi is a guarantee of success.

“We have seen him do his talking on the pitch and we have moved on from the saga. We should congratulate ourselves for getting Messi to stay with us and for how he has behaved in the last few days. The best player in the world should stay at our home.”

Bartomeu’s position is under threat after 20,000 fans signed a petition to call a vote over his future.

And he added: “The board and I will keep working to ensure we have the most competitive team possible.

“We will speak again after validating the votes but right now no-one wants to quit. The club won’t stop and we will keep working, we have lots of issues to sort out.”