Lionel Messi gave Barcelona fans a late Epiphany present by saying that he intends to spend the rest of his career at the club.
The global superstar returned from injury in spectacular style on Wednesday night, jumping off the bench to score two goals in a four-nil Copa del Rey win over Getafe. Speaking at a press conference yesterday the mini maestro said:
“I want to retire here. While people want me I want to spend my whole career at FC Barcelona.”
This is music to the ears of the Barcelonistas. It seems incredible but there had been talk of a rift between the club and their star player, there was even speculation that Messi would not be offered a new contract when his current one expires in 2018.
The club’s financial guru Javier Faus had stated that Barca had no obligation to renew Messi’s contract in future. Messi hit back by saying that Faus knew nothing about football. There was a distinct chill in the Barcelona air in December.
There have also been whispers that Messi was becoming increasingly injury prone – the recurrence of a troublesome hamstring injury has caused him to miss the last two months of the La Liga campaign. His return against Getafe dispelled some of those worries and Messi has insisted that he feels fit, refreshed and ready to wreak havoc again on La Liga defence.
Wednesday night’s crowd gave him a rousing reception and it seems that their ecstatic reaction has made up his mind – the Nou Camp is the only place to be for the mercurial Messi. After all – there’s no place like home.
