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Messi: Barca will be the only European club I play for

Xinhua, January 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

FC Barcelona's Argentina striker, Leo Messi said on Wednesday that he will not play in any other European club apart from Barca.

Speaking to the magazine France Football after winning his historic fifth Balon D'Or, Messi insisted he would, "never go to another European club. Barcelona is my home and I want to retire here."

He did, however, leave the door open for a possible return to his homeland.

"I could finish my career in Argentina, anything can happen in football, but I want to carry on here," said Messi, who said he was back to his best form,

"I am a lot better than in previous years. In 2013 and 2014, I had injuries and I was not at my best, now I am and I think I have rediscovered the level I had three or four years ago," he said.

Messi thanked his team-mates Neymar and Luis Suarez for their contribution to his form.

"I see more things now when I am on the pitch, I make more passes and the fact that I play with strikers such as Neymar is also a help. It's hard to win things when there is not a good relationship in the dressing room, but our relationship is very natural. We can find each other with our eyes shut," commented the striker.

He also said that although he and Cristiano Ronaldo were "rivals," they had always respected each other and there is "mutual admiration. He deserved to win the last two Balones D'Or," concluded Messi. Endit