Lionel Messi says he does not want a life contract at Barcelona

- Lionel Messi has opened up he does not want to sign a life contract at Barcelona

- The Argentine insisted he only wants to be at competitive level with club instead of committing his whole career at Camp Nou

- Messi has a clause in his current deal with Barcelona that allows him to leave at the end of the season

Lionel Messi made a striking confession after revealing he does not want a life contract at Camp Nou despite his desire to remain at Barcelona.

The 32-year-old's future at the club remains uncertain when club President Josep Bartomeu revealed that their captain has a clause in his contract which enables him to leave at the end of the season.

Messi then eased pressure after stating he had no intention of leaving his boyhood club as Barca began preparations to him down with a life contract.

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But the Argentine talisman has come out in the open to state he does not want to be tied down at the Camp Nou for the rest of his career.

"At the time there was talk of a contract for life [at Barcelona], as they did with [Andres] Iniesta," Messi said in an interview with the 'Perros de la Calle' show on Radio Metro.

"What I said was that I don't want a contract that binds me.

"I don't want to be here if I'm not happy.

"I want to compete, perform and keep fighting for targets, not being here simply due to my contract.

"That is why I don't like [the idea of binding myself to Barcelona].

"But here [at Barcelona], I'd stay here all my life."

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that Lionel Messi has again proven to be better off than his closest rival Cristiano Ronaldo after he was named the best player of the 21st century.

In a list compiled and broken down by British news media outfit Independent, each player were given points according to how they were ranked.

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