Bartomeu: Barcelona have an obligation to plan for the post-Messi era Barcelona Aware the Argentine won't be around forever

Josep Maria Bartomeu knows that Lionel Messi won't last forever and the Barcelona president believes the club have to start preparing for life after the Argentine.

The 32-year-old is still performing at an incredible level, but the Catalans need to start building towards the future, with him surely into his final few years at the Camp Nou.

"I think we have an obligation to work on the post-Messi era," Bartomeu explained to Reuters.

"We're already thinking about it by bringing in new players.

"As president I hope that Leo is with us for many more years but we have to think about the change for when he decides it's time to stop playing."