Barcelona presidential candidate will do everything to keep Messi at Camp Nou.
Joan Laporta is the favourite to win the presidential election on January 24 and he vows to do everything in his power to persuade Messi to stay with the Catalan giants.
Messi has seven months left on his contract and is free to talk to other clubs in January.
Man City are keen on reuniting the Argentine star with his former manager Pep Guardiola and will match his current wages of £7.45m-a-month after tax.
But Laporta who has a close relationship with Messi’s father Jorge -who’s also his agent will fight hard to stop Messi from leaving Camp Nou.
Laporta said: “I can only imagine him in a Barça shirt – and I will do everything possible to make sure he continues to wear it with the number 10 on his back. I think it suits him very well.
“What upsets Leo most is that they lied to him. I am lucky enough to be able to say that he (Messi) has told me, ‘you have never lied to me. Always when you have proposed something to me, you have kept your word.’
“They (Barca’s board) made him the one who was responsible for everything, they stayed in the background and he did not have to put up with that.
“I know Leo and I think he just wants to keep playing, and focus on winning another Champions League.
“People say to me, ‘why don’t you talk to him?’ But he already knows what I think. He knows that if I’m president the first thing I’ll do is to work out how I can convince him to stay until the end of his career.”
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