Report: Lionel Messi to Stay at Barcelona Despite Eric Abidal Spat, Exit Rumours

Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi will reportedly remain at the Camp Nou despite his recent fall out with sporting director Eric Abidal, who has said he hopes the forward signs a new contract at the club.

Speculation emerged that Messi could leave Barca following a public spat with Abidal, but Sky Sports' Lyall Thomas cited sources close to the player who said he intends to stay at least until his deal expires in 2021.

It's understood the 32-year-old is also open to the idea of extending terms at the Camp Nou, though he'd like to do so on a "rolling year-by-year basis."

Agence France-Presse's Tom Allnutt provided a screenshot of Messi's barbed reply via Instagram to a recent interview Abidal gave to Sport's Lluis Miguelsanz. The director appeared to suggest the players were partly to blame for Ernesto Valverde's sacking in January.

Messi took umbrage with those comments and encouraged former team-mate Abidal to specify which players he was referring to: "If you don't, you're tarnishing everyone and feeding things that are said that aren’t true."

Thomas also wrote that Messi felt compelled to defend himself and the team, "while also wanting to highlight that he does not call the shots at the club."

Abidal, 40, has since told Mundo Deportivo (h/t AS) it's "never easy" negotiating a contract as vast as Messi's but that he hopes to see the Argentinian remain in Catalonia.

"The question is for him, hopefully he continues. Leo said that Barca is everything for him, that he wants to stay here, from there, there will be conditions. We are talking about the best player in the world and having a renewal with player of this kind is never easy," he said.

Manchester City have been linked with Messi when his Barcelona ties have been tested in the past, but Pep Guardiola has played down any chance of a reunion with his former charge.

When asked about the recent clash of personalities at his former club, Guardiola told reporters: "He's a player from Barcelona. He will stay there [at Barca], that's my wish."

Quique Setien took over from Valverde and has lost two of his six games in charge of the team, including a Copa del Rey quarter-final exit following Thursday's 1-0 defeat to Athletic Bilbao. They lost just one of their last 13 games under Valverde.

The Blaugrana are three points below La Liga leaders Real Madrid and enduring a miniature crisis by their standards, but it appears Messi remains settled 19 years after arriving at the Camp Nou.

Barcelona have lost each of their last two away games but hope to end the rut when they travel to Setien's former club Real Betis on Sunday.