Barcelona Transfer News: Latest on Lionel Messi and Aleix Vidal Rumours

Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez cannot see Lionel Messi leaving the club any time soon despite recent speculation about his future.

A report from Carlos Carpio of Marca suggested the 29-year-old was stalling on signing a new contract with the club, triggering talk of a potential exit. The story was dismissed by Sport, though, who stated Messi is still on course to extend his stay at Camp Nou beyond 2018, when his deal is due to expire.

When asked his opinion on the player's future, Xavi, now of Al Sadd, insisted he thinks Messi will remain in Catalonia for a while yet.

"I'm in contact with Messi and I think he's happy and satisfied," the iconic midfielder told Cope (h/t Reuters, via Sky Sports). "He knows Barcelona is the best club in the world for him and I can't see him in any other club."

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Xavi, who enjoyed 17 decorated years in the Barca first team, admitted that he has not spoken to his former team-mate about a potential new deal, although he stated that "he is more concerned about stability" as opposed to lucrative offers from elsewhere.

While there are still around 18 months to run on the forward's deal, for a lot of Barcelona supporters, this is a little too close for comfort. After all, Messi has long been a talisman for this team and is considered by many to be the finest footballer of all time.

These numbers from Squawka Football sum up just how important he has been to the Blaugrana and Argentina causes this season:

Messi has achieved so much at Barcelona, winning the UEFA Champions League four times with the club and La Liga on eight occasions. Although he's considered a divine figure by Cules and looks contented with life in Catalonia, a new challenge may potentially be appealing to him having conquered all with the Blaugrana.

However, as Xavi noted, not all players are motivated by similar goals, and for Messi, stability of lifestyle is obviously very important. Given he's still scoring regularly, challenging for major honours and settled in Barcelona, any departure would still come as an enormous shock.

Aleix Vidal Rejects Exit Offers

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According to Lluis Miguelsanz of Sport, Barcelona full-back Aleix Vidal has turned down offers from three clubs as he wants to stay and fight for his place at Camp Nou.

In the report, it's stated manager Luis Enrique isn't completely convinced on the former Sevilla man and subsequently "the door is virtually shut for him" at Barca. Nonetheless, Vidal is said to have rejected approaches from Marseille, a German club and an Italian side.

"Barcelona are hoping he leaves because they find it difficult to imagine him playing and they cannot sign a new right-back until they get rid of him," the piece continued.

After the departure of Dani Alves in the summer, many anticipated that Vidal would step in at right-back and blossom, but Sergi Roberto has filled the role adeptly.

Spanish football journalist Sergi Dominguez summed up Vidal's struggles to make the squad earlier in the year:

His marginalisation has come as a surprise. With his energy and powerful running, Vidal looked to be a natural successor for Alves. Indeed, he proved he could cut it at a high level when helping Sevilla clinch the UEFA Europa League in 2014-15.

However, Enrique clearly doesn't trust the Spain international in the position, and his status at the Camp Nou looks bleak as a result. While it may be galling to give up on his Barcelona dream, for the sake of his own career, Vidal may need a fresh start elsewhere.