FC Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu says he does not wish to have any more disagreement with club captain Lionel Messi.

The Argentina captain, Bartomeu made this statement after he unwillingly opted to stay at the club this month after failing to force through a move.

“I won’t get into any conflict with him. He’s our captain and the leader of our team,” Bartomeu said before the team’s 1-0 friendly win over Elche on Saturday.

“I couldn’t let him leave the club. He is the best player of all time and the team needs him. Having Messi is a guarantee of success.”

Messi, who had grumbled earlier this month that Bartomeu had not fulfilled a promise to allow him to break his contract unilaterally and leave the club without a transfer fee, lashed out at the president’s leadership.

But Bartomeu didnt fire back against Barca’s all-time top goalscorer. He rather praised Messi for turning a page and performing well in the team’s pre-season matches, including scoring twice in a 3-1 win over Girona last week. His words: “We have seen him do his talking on the pitch and we have moved on from the saga.”

“We should congratulate ourselves for getting Messi to stay with us and for how he has behaved in the last few days. The best player in the world should stay at our home.”