Messi not interested in coaching, prefers sporting director role

Barcelona's Lionel Messi lies on the ground during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Valladolid and Barcelona at the Jose Zorrilla stadium in Valladolid, Spain,Tuesday Dec. 22, 2020. ( AP)

Lionel Messi has no plans to become a coach when he retires from playing, saying he is more interested in being a director of football than working in the unforgiving world of football management.

The 33-year-old Argentine forward has about six months left on his contract with Barcelona and the football world is on tenterhooks over whether he will stay at the club where he has spent the last 20 years or look for a new challenge.