Here are 10 future plans for Barça captain Leo Messi

Here are 10 future plans for Barça captain Leo Messi

Messi tiene varios retos por delante todavía / | Maite Jiménez

At 31 years of age the Barça captain is still in his peak but he's still got a lot of objectives he wants to achieve in the sport

The Barça captain is in the peak of his powers: he's the top scorer in LaLiga and the Champions League, is top of LaLiga and is about to receive his fifth Golden Boot for being the top goalscorer across Europe's biggest leagues. In his first few months as captain of the team, Leo Messi has a series of goals he wants to achieve at the highest level.

The first objective for the player is exactly what he announced on the Camp Nou pitch: winning the Champions League again. But he also hopes to win more titles with Barça, as well individual records and a trophy with Argentina.

1 - The Champions League: be kings of europe again

Messi expressed his wish to win the Champions League in front of everyone in attendance at the Camp Nou. "We'll do everything possible so that beautiful trophy we desire returns here," promised Leo. That trophy is obviously the Champions League.

Messi has never hidden his desire to win the biggest tournament in Europe and hopes to do that this season. Three seasons without appearing in the final is too long for a player of his level. As if he needed any greater motivation, Messi knows how important it is to end Real Madrid's winning streak in the competition too. 

2 - add more to the team in his role as barça captain 

Messi wears the captain's armband on a regular basis now that Andres Iniesta has left the club. It's seen him take a step forward both on and off the pitch. He's comfortable in his new role as 'leader' and he knows that the armband carries certain extra responsibilities. Leo must defend his teammates and talk more often with officials.

After so many years in the first team, the 'rise' of Messi to captain is something totally natural in the dressing room.

Those who know Messi the best talk about how mature he is as captain. Anyone who thought he'd struggle to deal with the leadership are being proven wrong. 

3 - He hopes to stay at the club beyond his contract (2021)

Messi's contract expires on the 30th June 2021 That is also the date when Josep Maria Bartomeu's reign as president comes to an end and both will need to make decisions on their future.

If Leo wants to re-sign and continue playing (he'll be 34 in June 2021) he must sign a new contract under Bartomeu as the president cannot continue beyond his existing term. It all depends on the opinion and 'feeling' for Messi. If he's physically capable of performing at the highest level, he'll do just that.

If not, he must decide what path his future takes. What appears clear is that Barça will offer him any role he desires should he hang up his boots.

4 - decide his role for argentina

Leo was hurt after the World Cup in Russia. He didn't enjoy the tournament and felt the expectations on his shoulders were too much. For his age and performances it was his World Cup, but Argentina went out at the Last 16 stage and Messi decided to take a break. In the next few months he will decide what to do next.

At the moment, he's keeping track of what's happening with Argentian from a distance. The next big tournament for Argentina is the Copa America which begins in Brazil on the 14th June 2019.

However Messi, who has lost the last two finals in the competition, might decide to focus his attention on the World Cup in Qatar instead. He would be 35 then and it'd be his last chance to lift the trophy.

5 - no interest in becoming a manager

There was talk that Messi might want to manage Barça one day but it's true that the player has always said he wasn't interested in such a role. At least not at a senior level.

However some of former teammates are going down that route: Xavi Hernandez, Victor Valdes, Van Bommel and Gabi Milito are just some of the many who want to move into coaching.

It remains to be seen what path Messi decides to take: sitting in the dugout, working with the youth team, in an office, in the boardroom or completely away from football.

6 - barcelona is his city for life

Messi has never hidden his love for Barcelona. He likes the city and has adapted to life there. His three children (Thiago, Mateo and Ciro) were all born in the city and the two older ones speak fluent Catalan.

Leo hasn't forgotten about his roots in Rosario either, often returing there at Christmas. However his close friends are all in Barcelona: Pique, Cesc Fabregas and Luis Suarez.

For the Argentina star the well being of his family is the most important aspect and everything suggests Barcelona is the ideal place for them to live.

7 - his projects are more alive than ever

The Leo Messi Foundation was crucial in the SJD Pediatric Center del Hospital Sant Joan de Déu (Barcelona) creating the biggest Children's Oncologic unit in Europe. His charity projects are very important to him and he recently gave out 15,000 breakfasts to schools in Mozambique.

The Foundation has seven projects running at the moment worth a total of €3.3m.

8 - break all the records possible at barça

At the start of this season, after winning the Spanish Super Cup, Messi became the most successful player in Barça's history (33, one ahead of Iniesta on 32).

He's also the top scorer in the history of the club with 566 goals. However there's still time for him to break more records at the club. One of those would be making the most appearances for Barça as he's only behind Iniesta and Xavi.

Another record is being the footballer with the most goals at a single club. He's just passed 'Torpedo' Muller, who scored 565 goals for Bayern Munich, and is only behind Pele, who scored 643 goals for Santos.

9 - play in another team... or become a ‘one club man’

Every year there's less and less players who finish their careers only playing for one side. The 'one man club' tag is unique in modern football as you'd follow in the footsteps of Totti, Maldini and Giggs to name but a few. The most recent example of that is Carles Puyol. Messi, who is already a legend, could become a 'one man club' too should he decide to end his professional career at the Camp Nou.

Messi has previously said he would like to play in Argentina one day, probably for Newell's Old Boys, and where he trained as a youngster. Or he could follow Xavi, Iniesta and Villa and play in Qatar, Japan or the US.

10 - RECLAIM THE BALLON D'OR AND 'THE BEST' 

Messi will soon receive his firth Golden Boot award as the best goalscorer in Europe's top leagues. But it appears unlikely that he'll win the Ballon d'Or (as he didn't win the Champions League or the World Cup) and he wasn't amongst the final three for 'The Best' award either. Although Messi insists the team's achievements are more important than individual awards, Messi would love to reclaim his throne at the top of football.

He'll also fight for other objectives too. He wants to become the top scorer in Champions League history (he's on 105 and only behind Cristiano, 121). Or match Zarra's achievement of being the only player in LaLiga to win six Pichichis.