Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu says big-money signings such as Antoine Griezmann proves the club are already planning for life without Lionel Messi.

The 32-year-old Argentine forward is still in pristine shape and has not shown any signs of slowing down, but the Blaugrana chief is aware that nothing lasts forever.

The Catalan club have made some big-money signings in the past couple of seasons including Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele and more recently Griezmann from Atletico Madrid – a transfer that is still being disputed by his former employers.

But Bartomeu admits they cannot rest on their laurels in the years before Messi finally decides to hang up his boots.

“I think we have an obligation to work on the post-Messi era,” Bartomeu explained to Reuters.

“We’re already thinking about it by bringing in new players.

“As president I hope that Leo is with us for many more years but we have to think about the change for when he decides it’s time to stop playing.”