barcelona

The superstar forward was brought off during the second half of Barca's 1-1 LaLiga draw against Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou on Wednesday.

Barca later confirmed that the 29-year-old is set to miss around three weeks of action with a groin strain, with Messi having suffered a similar injury during the last international break with Argentina.

And Bauza has hinted at an air of hypocrisy from Barca, claiming the Catalan club are guilty of overusing their star player.

The Brazil international signed a new five-year contract in June that commits him to Camp Nou until 2021, which ended months of speculation over his future.

Wagner Ribeiro, one of the forward's agents, claimed in the past week that both Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain had been prepared to break the world transfer record to sign the former Santos man.

Indeed, a staggering offer from PSG included the prospect of €40million per year, tax free, as well as a private jet and a stake in a global hotel business, Ribeiro said.

The former Barca handball star, who had previously been in charge of the club's football school scheme, has replaced Nacho Mestre as the most senior executive at Camp Nou following a meeting of board members.

Mestre, who is to continue in his role as general director, had requested more time to attend to personal concerns after spending 21 months as CEO.

The Argentine was at fault for Alaves' second goal as his poor clearance allowed Ibai Gomez to restore his side's lead, but Iniesta leapt to the defence of his team-mate. 

"Football is all about success and mistakes. What happened to Mascherano could have happened to anyone," Iniesta told reporters.

"It was one of those games where nothing came off. We didn't do things well and we've paid with a defeat and the loss of three important points.

"Of course this has been a bad performance, but now it's about analysing the causes and correcting the errors.

Contract negotiations are set to be opened with the 29-year-old in the near future, with Messi's current deal set to expire in June 2018.

Bartomeu is understandably keen to tie Barca's star man down to a longer deal, but he conceded the ball will be in Messi's court.

"[Messi] has all the years he wants [with Barcelona]," Bartomeu told ESPN FC.

"Lionel Messi is the best ever to play football in the history of the world and he plays with us.

The forward helped Brazil to World Cup qualifying wins over Ecuador and Colombia, netting once in both games.

Neymar landed in Spain on Wednesday, just days out from Barca's encounter at home to Alaves.

Despite fatigue, the 24-year-old said he was confident of featuring for his club for the first time this season, having also led his nation to Olympic gold in Rio.

"Very glad to be home. Do I look like playing on Saturday? Sure," Neymar said.

He added: "I'm a little tired now. I need to rest and then resume training with team-mates."

The LaLiga champions opened club offices in New York this week, with Ronaldinho, David Villa and Hristo Stoitchkov among the greats attending the launch.

Bartomeu, who has once again discussed his aim of taking Barca's annual revenue beyond €1bn, is keen to further push the European powerhouse on the other side of the Atlantic and believes the top-tier women's competition provides that opportunity.

"The women's football league here is very interesting," Bartomeu said.

The Spanish champions were busy before the transfer window closed last week, bringing in several high-quality players to improve the squad's depth.

Barca have since stated their next intentions are to extend the contracts of the likes of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Ivan Rakitic in the coming months.

And now Bartomeu has added Ter Stegen to the list, despite the 24-year-old Germany international still with three years left on his deal at Camp Nou.

"[Ter Stegen] is a fundamental piece in the future of Barcelona," Bartomeu told RAC1.

The prolific attacker was forced to pull out of the Argentina squad for the upcoming 2018 World Cup qualifier against Venezuela, having previously guided them to a 1-0 win over Uruguay after reversing his decision to retire from international football.

Messi underwent a series of tests on Monday to determine the extent of the knock.

Barcelona have now confirmed the forward's adductor issue and have made it clear Messi will have to lighten his training load ahead of this weekend's match at Camp Nou.

 Messi left Newell's for Barca at the age of 13 and has gone on to become one of the greatest players of all time, winning the Ballon d'Or on five occasions.

The 29-year-old has previously indicated a desire to end his career in Catalonia, but he appeared drawn to a Newell's return during an interview with Telefe's Polemica en el Bar in his homeland.

"I would love to [return]," he said. "It is something I have kept an eye on because it was my dream as a child.

"Obviously my life started to change and went another way, but I have no regrets.