TRANSFER: Lionel Messi hints he may quit the Camp Nou

Messi has revealed he's likely to quit the Camp Nou in the nearest future

Barcelona fans may be forced to accept the possibility that Lionel Messi will not remain at the Catalan club for the remainder of his playing days following some groundbreaking comments from the Blaugrana forward.

According to the four times Ballor D’Or winner, “Today I live in the present. I want to make a great year and win titles with Barcelona. And nothing more. Then we’ll see. Football takes many turns… While I always said that I would always stay there, sometimes not everything happens the way you want”. 

“Yes, I said it many times. That if I had my way I would stay forever. But as I just said, it’s not always given that you get everything you like. More so in football, which is constantly changing and so many things happen. It’s complicated”.

Messi has won everything in Camp Nou and he's on course to re-write history this season

At 27 years of age, the move may still be a long way off for Luis Enrique's centrepiece, but the realisation of Messi exiting the Camp Nou is gradually falling into place.

Last year, the mercurial talent told ESPN's Spanish language channel that he would return to his native Argentina one day, saying:

“I don't know how long it will take but I will return to Newell's. I want to play Argentine football because I know what it means to my country. The truth is that I don't know what will happen tomorrow. I do not know how long I could play but it's what I want”.

After spending the last 14 years in Catalonia, it's difficult to envision a Messi-less Barcelona, the South American having become so engrained with the club.

It's no coincidence that their rise in recent years has coincided with a period in which Messi became undoubtedly the world's finest player.