Barcelona 'Cannot Imagine' Life Without Lionel Messi, Says Josep Maria Bartomeu

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has said the club "cannot imagine" life at the Camp Nou after Lionel Messi leaves the club.

The 31-year-old has been with Barca his entire career, and Bartomeu is hoping he'll sign another contract at the club as he enters the twilight of his playing days.

He told Marca's Didac Piferrer (h/t Goal): "At the moment we cannot imagine it, but we have to prepare for it. It will be a very different Barcelona, we have to look for young talent. Leo has a contract until 2021 and we will also do another renewal. He has the ambition to win titles."

The Argentinian is the top goalscorer in the Catalan giants' illustrious history, with more than double the number of goals than previous record-holder Cesar Rodriguez Alvarez:

He also needs just three more games to pull level with Andres Iniesta on 674 appearances for the club. When he does so, only Xavi Hernandez will be ahead of him in that regard.

During his time at the club, Messi has contributed to a great deal of success, including nine La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions Leagues and six Copas del Rey.

His longevity at the top level of the game has been astounding:

The forward has also reached double figures for assists in each of those seasons, too. That shows just how difficult it will be to move on when he leaves or retires, because Barca will not only lose their most potent goalscorer but also their chief creator.

As they prepare for Messi's eventual departure, Barca would do well to look at Real Madrid's struggles this season following Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Juventus last summer.

Without their most decisive match-winner—whom they made little effort to replace—Real are out of the Champions League and the Copa del Rey and they're 12 points off the pace in La Liga.

Players like Ousmane Dembele, 21, should be able to ease the transition, as the Frenchman could be reaching his prime by the time Messi leaves, but no individual player can replace Messi by themselves.

What's more, even with the best preparations in place, it will inevitably take time to adjust to the departure of a player who has been central to the team's efforts for so long, and during that period, Barca won't be at their usual level.

While they may not want to imagine it, it bodes well Bartomeu fully recognises their need to prepare.