Lionel Messi Wants to Know Barcelona's Long-Term Plan Before Discussing Future

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi wants to learn the club's plan to recover from former president Josep Maria Bartomeu's reign at Camp Nou before deciding whether to leave the club or not.

The Argentine pushed to leave the club during the summer after growing tired of seeing Barcelona stagnate under Bartomeu, whose leadership and financial mismanagement have both seen him blasted by fans, pundits and players alike.

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Bartomeu recently chose to resign instead of facing a vote of no confidence, and with that, Marca state that Messi has reopened the door to staying at Barcelona, but only if he can be convinced that the club will be back making progress soon enough.

He wants to see who will replace Bartomeu and what that new president has planned for the club, including which directors will be working at Camp Nou and what the club's transfer policy will be for the coming years.

Messi is also keen to know who will be in the dugout going forward. He has a good relationship with current boss Ronald Koeman, but there have been strong rumours that former teammate Xavi could return to Barcelona now that Bartomeu has been ousted, which may well help convince Messi to stay.

Alongside all that, Messi will be keeping a close eye on the form of both the team and himself to ascertain whether there is a strong foundation upon which the team can recover.

With the new president not set to be decided until next year, the idea of a January exit from Camp Nou has already been ruled out.

Instead, Messi is going to wait until the end of the season to decide on his future. The Argentine will be a free agent at that point, meaning nobody would be able to stop him from pursuing a move elsewhere if he so chooses.

Manchester City are the side most-often linked with a move for Messi, and club officials have rarely shied away from discussing how a potential move to the Etihad is a genuine possibility for the six-time Ballon d'Or winner.

At the minute, Messi is not thinking about City. His focus remains solely on playing football as he waits to see what the new president has in store for him.

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