• La Liga

Messi: Nobody knows where I will be next season

Lionel Messi says he has a standard "manager-player" relationship with Luis Enrique, and described Chelsea's Jose Mourinho as a "really great coach" as intrigue about the Barcelona player's future continued.

Messi caused headlines earlier on Monday at the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Switzerland by stating he didn't know where he would be in a year's time.

The 27-year-old was asked about those comments in the mixed zone after losing out on the main award to Cristiano Ronaldo, and while claiming he was tired of clarifying his words, he also left more questions.

"It's just a way of speaking. People ask if I'm going to play for Barca or Newell's [in Argentina]; to return to Newell's one day, to return to Argentina one day. There's a long way to go.

"I always say the same thing, I always clarified it. The truth is you get tired of having to clarify everything you say."

The past week has been filled with speculation that Messi could be looking to leave Barcelona as his relationship with Enrique deteriorated, but he told Barca TV that any current transfer speculation was "all lies".

On Monday before the awards ceremony, Messi was asked if he would ever return to play in Argentina, and he responded: "I'm not sure where I'll be next year. I've always said that I'd like to finish my career at Barcelona, play at Newell's, but as Cristiano just said, nobody knows what the future holds - and much less so in the case of the football world, where everything can change overnight."

But after the awards were given out and Messi downplayed his earlier comments, he again touched on how he's getting along with Enrique. One Spanish source in Zurich said the Argentine now has more amicable dealings with long-term rival Ronaldo rather than his coach, and the player's words were hardly a huge endorsement.

"It's a manager-player relationship, like any other in a dressing room," Messi said.

FIFA revealed that Messi had included Mourinho in his World Coach of the Year votes, behind ex-Argentina manager Alejandro Sabella - his first choice - and former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola.

"Mourinho is a great manager. Whether you like him or not as a person, you can't deny he's a great coach," Messi said.

Messi also reiterated that that Ronaldo's win - his third - was "justified" and "deserved," and said it doesn't particularly bother him whether he ever claims another Ballon D'Or after winning four straight from 2009 to 2012.

"All I can do is put in a big year, and win the titles we want," Messi said. "My concern is to do that, not whether I win a fifth Ballon D'Or or not."

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