Ivan Rakitic Hopeful Messi Will Stay at Barcelona But Refuses to Give '100%' Assurances

Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic has failed to give his '100%' assurances that Lionel Messi will remain at the club for the rest of his career in light of his ongoing contract confusion, but insisted that he has every hope and belief that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is going nowhere.

Messi's Camp Nou future has been under intense scrutiny ever since the summer of 2016 when he rejected the offer of a new contract while he seemingly weighed up his options.

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A breakthrough was later made and he agreed a new deal in July. It was later reported that the terms had never actually been signed, but Barça insisted that the new contract was valid and active because it had been signed on the player's behalf by his father and agent, Jorge.

"I see Leo as always," Rakitic is quoted as saying by AS ahead of this week's Champions League clash with Juventus in Turin.

"Honestly, we have not talked about it because we all trust the same thing and he does too. Messi's affection for the fans, the management and the club is very well known," he added.

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"Messi is part of the club and has to be here. I trust that he will be here forever.

"I cannot say 100% that he is going to stay. I know there are fans who want to see that picture (of the contract being signed). I do too. We want to have him with us. We really enjoy it. There is a lot of the journey left to do together."