Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu is confident that superstar forward Lionel Messi will remain at Camp Nou for the remainder of his playing days.
The four-time Ballon d'Or winner, who has spent his entire senior career with the Catalan giants, is said to have turned down a lucrative new deal in the summer over concerns regarding his high-profile tax fraud case.
Messi is now into the final two years of his current contract, but Bartomeu is confident that an agreement can be struck to see the Argentina international prolong his stay at the club for the foreseeable future, in turn fending off any potential bids from interested suitors.
"I believe we've got a team with incredible players, all of them," he told reporters at the announcement of new sponsorship deal with Japanese e-commerce giants Rakuten.
"We're all convinced, we're all positive Leo Messi will end his sporting career in Barca. All the members of Barca believe this is how it has to be, because he is the player that in the last few years has brought us sporting success."
Messi has scored 433 goals in 456 appearances during his time at Barcelona, the most recent of which came in the narrow 2-1 win over Sevilla prior to the international break.
Daniel Lewis
