Braida: Messi won´t leave Barca, it´s a perfect marriage

Lionel Messi and Barcelona is “the perfect marriage” as club director Ariedo Braida insisted the five-time Ballon d’Or winner will not leave the LaLiga giants.

Messi’s contract expires in 2018 and his future at Camp Nou remains far from certain amid reported interest from the Premier League and French champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Barcelona have continually voiced their confidence the 29-year-old will renew his contract, and Braida reiterated that stance.

“Barcelona is the perfect place for him. It’s a perfect combination, a perfect marriage,” Braida told Radio Anch’io Sport.

“He serves at Barca and vice versa. His life is here, it’s his city. He will not move from here.”

Barca will be relying heavily on Messi to help overturn a 4-0 deficit against PSG in the Champions League last 16.

Messi – who tops the LaLiga scoring charts with 23 goals and 10 in the Champions League – and his team-mates were put to the sword by PSG in the first leg and they face an uphill battle to reach the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

“It is very difficult to recover from 4-0, but with a player like Messi nothing is impossible,” Braida said ahead of the midweek fixture at Camp Nou. 

“We all have belief that we can do it.”