Barcelona Presidential candidate Victor Font: In the short term, it's critical that we keep Messi at Barca

Font says that it will be impossible to find an alternative to Messi as there is none.

The presidential candidate wants to retain Leo at the club even after his retirement.

"When you are lucky enough to have the best player in the world in your team, you need to retain that talent. If Messi goes to a competitor we will not find an alternative easily as there is no alternative to Messi. So that’s why retaining him in the short term is critical," Barcelona presidential candidate Victor Font has told Reuters.

"But for us, the association between Messi and Barca is a strategic relationship and we want to make sure we create the right conditions for Messi to play a role at the club even after he retires. Messi could contribute with plenty of ideas."

As a reminder, Messi's contract at Barcelona expires already next summer. The Argentine will be free to sign a pre-contract with a new club in January.

Victor Font has said that the first thing he'll do as president if elected is going to be offering Leo a new contract. The presidential candidate has also said that Xavi could help him convince Messi to continue at Camp Nou.