Messi will be around for a while longer Barcelona Farewell put on hold

The greatest fear of everyone associated with Barcelona is the day when Leo Messi decides to hang up his boots, but the Argentine appears to have no plans of retiring in the imminent future.

His comments upon picking up his sixth Ballon d'Or on Monday set the alarm bells ringing for some, as he touched on his advancing years.

"I am aware of how old I am and these moments are much more enjoyable because retirement is approaching and it is difficult to repeat it," Messi said.

His words on the red carpet appeared to allay some of those fears.

"I hope, and God willing, I can play for many more years.

"I'm already 32 years old, on my way to 33 and, as I said long ago, it all depends on how I feel physically.

"Today I feel better than ever on a personal level and hopefully I can stretch it out much more," he added.

As much as Messi tried to bring calm to the delicate matter of his retirement, the Barcelona board know that it is a major challenge they will have to deal with in the coming years.

There is an air of calm at the club as they believe they are working on a smooth transition so that, when that time comes, they will have a collective that is capable of softening the blow.

At the same time, Barcelona also feel that there is plenty of time before Messi takes that decision.

The words of president Josep Maria Bartomeu seemed to echo this sentiment.

"[Let's have some] calm. Messi will be around for a while longer."