Barca Director of Sport can't assure Messi' future as amount of money in the game increases

The Director of Sport at FC Barcelona commented on Monday that the club could have problems retaining start striker Leo Messi.

The 27-year-old Messi has spent his entire career at the club, having a contract until June 2019 with a massive buyout clause of around 320 million US dollars, but according to Ariedo Braida, the club can never rule out a surprise regarding his future.

"I believe it's very difficult that Messi will leave Barca but at times in football strange things happen," he said in an interview with Catalan TV network, Esport 3.

Braida who recently replaced Andoni Zubizarreta in his post, explained that the increased amount of money in the game through TV deals and billionaire owners, made that clause appear more accessible than in the past.

"Now with these clubs that have so much money like (Manchester) City, certain amounts don't seem to have a value. In football things happen that appear impossible but I hope he will remain," he said.

This is the latest in a chapter of comments about Messi's future, although earlier this year the striker insisted he was happy at the club and has returned to his best form in 2015, as highlighted by his hat-trick against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, which took him level in the goalscoring Charts alongside Cristiano Ronaldo. Endite