Luis Garcia: Messi is happy at Barcelona and will retire there

Luis Garcia is adamant that Lionel Messi will retire at Barcelona, amid fears the Argentine could leave the club.

Messi’s current deal at Barcelona ends in 2018, and while the Catalan club insist a new contract will be offered, the threat of an exit continues to grow.

Garcia is in Australia working for Optus during their Confederations Cup coverage and he revealed that he cannot see Messi leaving the Nou Camp.

“I don’t think he will leave. I think he is happy there,” Garcia said

“Of course sometimes he has to look after himself and his family. I’m sure he is very happy at Barcelona. Barca know how important he is for the club. They will arrive at an agreement. I don’t see him playing for another club.

“He has been the face of Barcelona for many years. I think he will retire at Barca. He might finish his international career earlier and maybe go back to his former club [Newell’s Old Boys] in a totally different way.”

Garcia continued by heaping praise upon the 30-year-old, insisting there is no weak point to his game.

“He does everything well. He passes well, he controls well, he scores. When he has to defend, he defends well. So it doesn’t matter where you play him. He is going to achieve everything he wants to. When you look at him play, he can do anything. Nothing is difficult for him.

“It’s difficult to explain. When you see players in defence or struggling because they are not fast or unable to control, because Messi has an amazing left foot but the right foot is also good. He is small but he is also good in the air and is so clever.

“When he plays in the wide areas, he can go one-vs-one and dribble at players with speed and technique. In the middle, he can assist and keep the ball. He knows when to go fast with the tempo or slow down a little. He can do everything.”