Ariedo Braida: Barcelona to spurn offers for "out of this world" Lionel Messi

When asked about Messi’s future, Barca international sporting director Ariedo Braida told Catalan TV channel Esport 3: “I believe it’s very difficult that Messi will leave Barca but at times in football strange things happen.

“Now with these clubs that have so much money like (Manchester) City, certain amounts don’t seem to have a value. In football things happen that appear impossible but I hope he will remain.”

Messi now has more hat-tricks than anyone in the history of Spanish football. He’s also scored 40+ goals in 6 consecutive seasons. Mental!

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) March 8, 2015

Messi claimed earlier this year that he was happy at Barca and quashed speculation that he would leave the club this summer.

The Argentina international created a new hat-trick record in Spain by scoring three goals in Barca’s 6-1 triumph over Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, his 24th league treble for Barca in all competitions and his 32nd overall for the Catalan club.

The outcome at the Nou Camp lifted Luis Enrique’s team to the top of Primera Division, just one point clear of Real Madrid. Messi is enjoying an outstanding campaign, scoring 30 goals and setting up 14 more in 26 league appearances.

“He is not just a player,” Braida said. “Messi is a phenomenon, he is an alien.”

Amid the inevitable headlines hailing the latest record-breaking exploits of Messi, Barcelona coach Enrique was keen to praise the contribution of his other players.

Real Madrid’s loss against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday gave Barca the chance to climb above Carlo Ancelotti’s team in top spot when they hosted Rayo Vallecano, and they took the opportunity in emphatic fashion with a 6-1 victory.

Messi’s hat-trick was the fastest of his career in just 12 minutes, and ended Rayo’s resistance after less than convincing first-half performance by the Blaugrana, but Enrique pointed out they are not just a oneman team, adding: “The situation we are in is the result of our collective effort and we have worked for the right to be here now.

“We’re very happy because we are where we want to be, but the objective is to be leading at the end of the season.”

With 12 games remaining, Barca face just one more fixture – away to struggling minnows Eibar next weekend – before the visit of Madrid to the Nou Camp for a clash which will go a long way towards deciding the outcome of the title.

But Enrique argued that El Clasico will not be the only important game over the next two months, pointing to the mental demands placed upon both sets of players.

“I’ve always said that the big teams will get beaten and this will continue to happen,” he said. “Having to win every game is a heavy burden and every game becomes more important than the last. We need to be on our toes and to continue to play well.

“I have always said the big teams will lose throughout the course of the season, therefore we have to be very careful.”

One notable aspect of the victory was the increasingly rare sight of old masters Andres Iniesta and Xavi both starting, with Ivan Rakitic and rising young star Rafinha rested to the bench.

Enrique explained that his team selection was aimed at exploiting the weaknesses in Rayo’s high defensive line. He said: “We knew that if we could beat their pressure we would have scoring chances.

“Xavi and Iniesta gave us a lot of chances to get the ball to our forwards.”

Despite being played against one of the lowest profile teams in the country, Sunday’s game attracted a season-high attendance of 87,151 to the Nou Camp, with Enrique citing the midday kick-off as the main reason.