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Barcelona's international sporting director Ariedo Braida has conceded that they may not be able to stop Lionel Messi leaving for a big-spending club like Manchester City or PSG. Messi, 27, is Barca's all-time top scorer, is tied to the Catalan giants until June 2019 and has a 205 million pound release clause in his contract. When asked about Messi's future, Braida told Catalan TV channel Esport 3: "I believe it's very difficult that Messi will leave Barca but at times in football strange things happen. "Now with these clubs that have so much money like (Manchester) City and PSG, certain amounts don't seem to have a value. In football things happen that appear impossible but I hope he will remain." Messi claimed earlier this year that he was happy at Barca and quashed speculation that he would leave the club this summer. This season he has enjoyed an outstanding campaign, scoring 30 goals and setting up 14 more in 26 league appearances "Sometimes strange things happen," Braida added. "He is a phenomenon, an extra-terrestrial comparable to [Diego] Maradona and Pele." The Argentina international created a new hat trick record in Spain by scoring three goals in Barca's 6-1 triumph over Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, his 24th league treble for Barca in all competitions. The outcome at the Nou Camp lifted Luis Enrique's team to the top of Primera Division, just one point clear of Real Madrid, who lost 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. Information from the Press Association was used in this report.
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