Lionel Messi has only a matter of weeks remaining on his Barcelona contract whilst the Argentine maestro and talisman endured a frustrating outing in El Clasico as Real Madrid went top of La Liga with a 2-1 victory.
Barcelona director Guillermo Amor said he “hopes” Lionel Messi has not played in his final Clasico after the Blaugrana was overtaken in a 2-1 defeat at Real Madrid on Saturday night as Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos fired Los Blancos to victory, with Oscar Mingueza managing to pull one back for the visitors in the second half with heavy rain making things difficult for both sides and officials on the pitch.
With less than three months remaining on his contract at Camp Nou, Messi will never face Los Blancos in Barcelona colors again – unless he agrees to a new deal.
Amor – who made over 300 La Liga appearances for Barcelona between 1988 and 1998 – was unable to provide an encouraging update on negotiations and said he hopes this was not Messi’s final El Clasico outing.
“We hope not,” the Barcelona chief told Spanish outlet Movistar .
“We hope he decides to stay at Barcelona and plays many more Clasicos with Barcelona.”
Although Messi had a quiet night against Real Madrid and was unable to build on his tally of 26 goals against Los Blancos, the 33-year-old is no doubt enjoying yet another remarkable season, having gathered 29 goals and 13 assists, with his side still in the reckoning for two trophies.
Barca may have squandered the chance to go top of La Liga against their arch-rivals but the tussle at the top of the table remains intensely competitive, with Atletico Madrid also in the running.
The Catalans now have a Copa del Rey final with Athletic Bilbao to look forward to next Saturday with Messi bidding to win the trophy for a seventh time.
Amor was keen to draw a line under his side’s defeat in El Clasico and turned his attention to the cup showdown.
He added:
“We now have to focus on the next game, which is very important. It’s a chance to win a trophy.”