'He has his heart set on this club' - Hansi Flick drops hint over Lionel Messi's future as he responds to 'spectacular' Barcelona praise from Argentine icon

Messi has shared his thoughts on the current Barcelona team and made it clear he thinks Flick is doing a great job in Catalunya. He told 3cat: "I see it as spectacular, it doesn’t surprise me. It’s not something new. I think it’s spectacular that the boys have the opportunity to play. When they are given confidence, they respond because they know the club and are used to the club’s way of playing. If they are accompanied, these things happen as they did in other times."

The German boss has guided Barcelona to top the of La Liga while trusting heavily in youth and the club's academy graduates. Teenagers Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi are regulars in the first team at the tender age of just 17, while Flick has also handed game time to La Masia stars Fermin Lopez, Marc Bernal and Marc Casado. The German boss was asked about Messi's praise ahead of his team's next game against Celta Vigo and says his words mean a lot to the whole club.

Flick told reporters: "It’s an honour to hear the best player in history say that he likes this Barca. He follows the team closely, he has his heart set on this club, that means a lot to the youngsters and to the team.”

Messi joined Barcelona at the age of 13 and went on to become arguably the club's greatest ever player, scoring 672 goals in 778 appearances, before making an emotional exit in 2021.

Messi is currently enjoying life in Miami but has openly admitted he "belongs to Barcelona" and misses his former home. The Argentina has previously hinted that Inter Miami will be his last club before he finally hangs up his boots but has long been tipped to enjoy some kind of role back at Barcelona once his playing days are over.