Speaking on Barça TV, the FC Barcelona technical secretary Txiki Begiristain insisted that Lionel Messi will not leave Barca and that he and the player are very calm about the situation. Txiki referred to the upcoming presidential elections at Real Madrid and that some potential candidates for the Real Madrid presidency are possibly trying to gain votes in claiming Leo Messi as a possible new signing. Txiki Begiristain on Barca TV: "This is election time and these kinds of stories tend to come up. We are proud that our players should be used as subjects of electoral campaigns, but we are staying calm, and I am referring to Messi here, because he is very consistent in what he says about wanting to win titles here at Barça. There is no need to say anything else about the candidates".
