Barcelona have insisted that Lionel Messi is not planning to leave the club after his prison sentence for tax fraud.
Speculation linking Messi with a move to the Premier League has begun doing the rounds again in light of the No 10’s legal problems, although he is not expected to see any jail time, but Barca are confident of keeping their talisman beyond the expiration of his contract in 2019.
“We’ve maintained contact with [Messi’s] camp and we’re not aware that Leo wants to leave the club. They haven’t transmitted that feeling to us,” club spokesman Josep Vives told Cadena COPE.
“He isn’t planning to leave the club when his contract expires. We’re very calm and nothing has reached us [to suggest otherwise].”
