Is he staying? Barca show off picture of embrace between Messi & Laporta

It could be interpreted as a wink towards the player continuing, for which the President will play a significant role.

Is he staying? Is he going? What is for sure is that he's been pictured hugging president Joan Laporta. Barcelona shared on their social media platforms a photo of Messi exchanging a few kind words with the new president after the official photoshoot of the group which, incidentally, caused an uproar of memes on social media.

The message could be interpreted as a hint towards the captain staying at the club. The organisation accompanied a pair of images, showing a meeting between the two, with a shaking hands emoji. Shortly after, they pulled aside other first-team players to have photos speaking with president Laporta.