MESSI AT 30
He’s won the lot – apart from the World Cup – and is happy to stay at beloved Barca
LIONEL MESSI has done and won it all at Barcelona.
But those hoping to see the superstar weave his magic over here face disappointment as he wants to finish his career at the Nou Camp.
Messi celebrates his 30th birthday today and can already look back on a career that would be the envy of even the best-ever players.
The list of honours, records and awards is endless, but includes a club record 507 goals, eight Spanish titles, four Champions League wins and five Ballons d’Or.
Guillermo Amor, a youth coach at Barca as Messi came through the ranks, said: “He has pulverised all expectations. What he has done in the first team is equal or even greater than what he showed us at La Masia.”
In the last decade, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated football’s top individual honour.
And in the debate about who is better, one stick used to beat Messi is the fact he has never stepped out of his Catalan comfort zone.
In his 30s, that seems unlikely to change. He said: “I would like to finish my career at Barcelona so we’ll see. Day by day, I only think about what’s happening at Barcelona. It’s what I always wanted, what I always dreamed of and what I said I’d do.”
One barrier to a move is that few clubs could actually afford Messi, currently in talks over a new deal that would see his buyout clause rise to an eye-watering £348million.
A target still remaining is to win the World Cup, a prize some say he needs to lift to be considered the greatest-ever footballer.
But Diego Maradona, another Argentina No.10 whose name is mentioned in that debate, said: “Football history will remember Messi. To win a World Cup, in my opinion, wouldn’t bring himself anything else.”
‘Day by day I only think about Barca. It’s what I have always dreamed of’