Keeping Messi critical to Barca future, says presidential candidate Font

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Champions League - Round of 16 Second Leg - FC Barcelona v Napoli - Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain - August 8, 2020 Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring their second goal, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) REUTERS/Albert Gea

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Lionel Messi must stay at Barcelona so he can lead the team for the remainder of his career and play a strategic role when he retires, the club's presidential candidate Victor Font told Reuters.

The six-times World Player of the Year and Barca’s all-time top scorer came close to leaving the Catalans in August after his relationship with then president Josep Maria Bartomeu turned sour.