Messi hopes Guardiola extends Barca stay
Reuters - Sunday 19 February 2012, 23:53
Lionel Messi hopes coach
Pep Guardiola will extend his contract and stay on at Barcelona
beyond this season, the World Player of the Year said after
scoring four times in a 5-1 hammering of Valencia in La Liga on
Sunday.
Guardiola, who prefers to renew his deal on a year-by-year
basis, said in the pre-match news conference on Saturday he
needed more time to decide on his future.
"He knows what we think, and he'll make his decision when he
is ready," Messi told Spanish television in a pitchside
interview at the Nou Camp.
"We hope he stays, he is very important to us and to this
club," he added.
Messi, celebrating his 200th league appearance for Barca,
took his league tally this season to 27 from 23 matches - one
behind top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid - and to 146
since he made his debut in La Liga in October 2004.
Barcelona Vice-President Josep Maria Bartomeu said the
Catalan club was not worried by Guardiola's failure to commit
beyond the end of this season.
"He is an exceptional coach and he decides the timescales,"
Bartomeu told Spanish television. "We are at his disposition and
when he wants he will speak to us.
"With him, there are no time limits. He is an exceptional
person and we are counting on him."
Guardiola, who has led Barcelona to 13 trophies since taking
the helm in 2008, is chasing a fourth consecutive league title.