Lionel Messi says he is Staying at Barcelona after Hitting Back at Reporters

      Lionel Messi insists he has no intention of leaving boyhood club, Barcelona and has launched a scathing attack on "lies" suggesting he has fallen out with club manager Luis Enrique.

 "I have no intentions of leaving for any team, not Chelsea nor Manchester City," he said, after inspiring a 3-1 victory over Atletico Madrid. "I'm tired of all the things that people have been saying. I didn't ask the club to fire anyone."

Messi has spent his entire career at the Nou Camp, winning a host of team and individual honors since making his debut in 2004. It had been suggested Barcelona's record goalscorer might leave the Catalan club following reports of a training-ground row with Enrique, who took over last summer.

 But Messi added: "People make it out as if I run the club and that's not how it is. I don't ask anyone to make decisions. "Everything that has been said is lies and I want people to know that, everything that has been said is false. "People say these things because they want to cause us harm. It hurts because it came from Barca people. We must be united."

Regarding the Ballon d'Or ceremony which takes place on January 12th, he stated: "Whoever wins the Ballon d'Or will deserve it, whether it is Neuer or Cristiano, who had incredible year," he added.
The Argentine has scored 259 league goals in 295 games for Barcelona.

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