Barcelona fans would have been extremely worried about the future of Lionel Messi.

With the Argentine's contract set to run out in the summer of 2018, Messi's future seemed unclear.

And, with his contract having just seven months to run, there were multiple reports suggesting that the five time Ballon d'Or winner would leave the club, with Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain mentioned as possible destinations.

However, everyone connected with Barcelona could breathe a huge sigh of relief when it was revealed last Saturday that Messi had finally signed a new contract, which will keep him at the club until 2021.

And Messi was ecstatic with his new contract, saying: "The objective is to continue achieving things and making history.

"We've been lucky enough to have won a great many things and I hope there will be more in the future.

"I'm happy to continue with the club, which is my home. My dream was to finish my career at Barca and we are moving down that path."

XAVI RECALLS MESSI'S FIRST TRAINING SESSION

Xavi, who is a Barcelona legend in his own right after spending 24 years with the club, has recalled the training session where he saw Messi for the first time.

The Spaniard recalls being shocked by the Argentine's talent, who was just 16-years-old at the time.

Speaking to AS, Xavi said: "They'd already told me about this kid, I'd been warned that there was this young Argentinian kid coming through who was very good.

"They'd even mentioned his name but I'd forgotten. But then, when I saw him in training aged just 16, I could see exactly what they were on about.

"There was a training drill we used to do in which players are one-on-one against [Lillian] Thuram, and [Carles] Puyol... I saw Messi take on those two and couldn't believe my eyes.

"I thought: 'Blimey, here this kid who's only 16 years old, dodging past professional defenders, internationals. Even then you could tell that he was different.

"It's obvious that he has an innate talent when he is one-against-one, he's fast, he scores goals, he passes, shoots... He's amazing."

It seems even from his youth, Messi was always destined for stardom.