Carles Puyol: Lionel Messi will finish career at Barcelona | OneFootball

Carles Puyol expects Barcelona’s Lionel Messi to play into his late 30s and finish his career as a one-club man.

Puyol, who soldiered alongside Messi at the Nou Camp for many years before retiring aged 36 in 2014, dismissed recent suggestions that the Barça playmaker could move to Manchester City.

The reports came after the Argentina international’s very public spat with sporting director Eric Abidal.

But with the pair having apparently sorted their differences, Puyol fails to see any reason for Messi to leave.

“Why are we talking about Barcelona without him?” Puyol told Spanish sports newspaper Mundo Deportivo at the Laureus Awards in Berlin.

“He is still at the club, and we should be aiming to win as much as possible with him.”

“He is a player that is 32 now, he takes care of himself, and could play on until he is 38.”

“We knew from the beginning that he is a special player, but he continues to break records.”

With Manchester City in the midst of fighting a two-year ban from European competition, the Etihad looks a less inviting place than it did even just a few days ago.

Messi has a clause in his contract that would allow him leave at the end of this season.

He will arguably want to see how this campaign shakes out before assessing the multitude of options available to him.