The Barca captain tried to force his way out of the club in the close season, but he later agreed to stay until his contract ends in June 2021.

The 33-year-old Argentina forward revealed his frustrations with the club’s board and a lack of planning, but said he would give his all this season.

Messi, FC Barcelona’s all-time top goalscorer, is free to negotiate with other clubs from January, including Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, who are interested in luring him to Manchester.

“Maybe there’s the possibility of him playing for another club, but if he feels comfortable and happy, and a new board comes in, he will want to stay at the club,” Atletico Madrid striker Suarez said.

“As a friend, I will be happy if things go well for him (at Barca), but also if he goes to another club.”

FC Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has called club elections for March 2021.

But he could be forced out sooner, with a no confidence vote set to be launched against him and the board.

Messi will have no shortage of suitors if he decides to leave Camp Nou.

Manchester City’s chief operating officer Omar Berrada left the door open for the striker in an interview.

“It’s almost impossible to guess what will happen next summer,” said Berrada.

“Messi is a generational talent. He’s the best player in the world and probably an exception to potential investments that we’d do out of the ordinary.

“For every single position we have to be prepared, because there are so many things that can happen.

”But at the same time I think we have the financial strength and ability to make that investment (for a striker), when required.”

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The hosts’ win has come after a week in which their pride had taken a beating at home and in Europe.

Brazilian teenager Vinicius Jr scored the opener in the 71st minute with a strike that deflected off Gerard Pique, flummoxing goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen who had made some jaw-dropping saves.

Substitute Mariano scored the second goal in added time.

Real Madrid’s victory means they lead the standings on 56 points after 26 games, with Barca slipping to second spot on 55 points.

Zinedine Zidane’s side also crucially have the better head-to-head record in the event both sides finish level on points.

Real Madrid swallowed chastening defeats by Levante in La Liga and Manchester City in their UEFA Champions League last 16 first leg tie in the past week.

But in the second half they overwhelmed Barca, threatening on numerous occasions before breaking the deadlock.

“We deserve our victory for everything we did, in attack and defence,” Zidane told reporters.

“It has been a complicated week for us and we had the chance to turn things around and we did that.

“But this win also doesn’t change anything. We have a long way to go and we have to continue.

“We’ve got three important points, but we’ll have more difficult games and we will be criticised again.”

FC Barcelona had bossed the first period and twice could have taken the lead but were powerless to stop Real Madrid after the interval.

Their impotence was summed up when Lionel Messi raced towards goal but was easily tracked down by Marcelo.

Marcelo’s tackle got as loud a cheer as the goals from Real Madrid’s fans who had not been able to toast a league win over Barca at the Santiago Bernabeu since 2014.

The long-awaited victory was confirmed by an unlikely source in forward Mariano, who had only just come off the bench to make his first league appearance of the season.

Barca midfielder Sergio Busquets believed his side deserved better.

“We played very well in the first half. Then, in an unfortunate move, they scored thanks to a deflection. We had a great chance to open up a big gap, but it wasn’t to be,” he said.

“There’s a long way to go in the season and we have to remember the positive things and how well we played in the first half.”

Barca coach Quique Setien had remarked before the game that Real Madrid were under greater pressure to win after they had surrendered a three-point advantage over Barca.

That was when they drew with Celta Vigo and lost to Levante.

They were left further frustrated by their 2-1 home defeat by Manchester City which has seriously jolted their hopes of remaining in the UEFA Champions League.

This had put Zidane back under pressure for the second time this season.

The first half was end-to-end but lacked quality.

FC Barcelona created clear sights of goal for Messi and Arthur Melo, both of whose efforts were well saved by Thibaut Courtois.

Real Madrid’s main threat was the electric but raw Vinicius, who routinely got down the left but rarely knew what to do next.

Real Madrid looked far more determined in the second half, and Isco forced Ter Stegen into an outstanding flying save and then saw a downward header scrambled off the line by Pique.

The missed chances galvanised the home fans, however, who could sense their team were close to an opening.

There was a touch of fortune to the deflected opening goal, but Real Madrid’s victory was thoroughly deserved.

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The win for Barca ensured that they sealed a spot in the Champions League knockout stages as Group F winners.

Messi set up Suarez to put Barca ahead at a packed Camp Nou in the 29th minute before the Uruguayan returned the compliment for the Argentine to establish another Champions League record on his landmark night four minutes later.

Messi’s left-foot strike meant he had scored against a 34th different team in the Champions League, surpassing the mark that he had shared with Cristiano Ronaldo and Raul.

“Messi moves so well between the lines and when he receives the ball he is almost unstoppable,” said Dortmund coach Lucien Favre, whose side struck a late consolation goal through substitute Jadon Sancho.

“Sometimes all you can do is try to foul him because he is so explosive. He is also deadly whenever he makes a final ball.”

Substitute Griezmann finished off a defence-splitting pass from Messi to further stretch Barca’s lead in the 67th minute, a much-needed goal for the Frenchman’s confidence after failing to score in his previous six appearances for the club.

Griezmann had been left out of the starting line-up but came on midway through the first half when his injury-prone compatriot Ousmane Dembele was forced off with a third muscle problem of the campaign.

Dortmund’s England forward Sancho also began the game on the bench but made an impact when introduced after halftime, firing in an impressive consolation strike for the Germans in the 77th minute after pouncing on a loose ball inside the area.

The 19-year-old then forced Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to turn a powerful shot on to the crossbar in a strong finish from the German side, whose coach Favre is under pressure due to the team’s poor domestic results.

But it did not tarnish what was a therapeutic win for Barca, who had come in for scathing criticism for their recent poor displays against Leganes, Levante and Slavia Prague, even though they are top of La Liga and their Champions League group.

Ernesto Valverde’s side lead the standings with 11 points from five games, Inter Milan are second on seven while Dortmund are third, also on seven, with Slavia bottom with two.

“We were in the toughest group in the competition and once again we have qualified for the latter stages with a game to spare,” said Valverde.

“Our first objective was to qualify as group winners but we also wanted to show a real improvement in our play,” added Suarez.

“We relaxed a bit in the second half and hung on to our lead but we should still leave here feeling very happy.”

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The Catalans however ended the game with nine men as Ousmane Dembele and debutant Ronald Araujo were sent off.

The victory saw Barca leapfrog Atletico Madrid into second place on 16 points, two behind leaders Real who they meet in three weeks’ time at the Camp Nou.

Atletico Madrid are third on 15 after drawing 0-0 at Real Valladolid on Sunday.

Barcelona rode their luck in the early stages of the game as Julen Lopetegui’s Sevilla made an ambitious start but failed to take their chances.

While the Catalans were ruthlessly efficient and scored three times in eight first-half minutes.

Luis Suarez gave the champions the lead with an outstanding bicycle kick in the 27th minute and their Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal then got a crucial touch on a tame shot from Arthur Melo to double the lead in the 32nd.

Frenchman Dembele, who started ahead of 120 million euro (107 million pounds) signing Antoine Griezmann, made it 3-0 in the 35th with a superb solo dribble and finish.

Barca captain Messi scored from a free kick in the 78th to finally get off the mark in a season blighted by injuries but there was a sour end to the game for Ernesto Valverde’s side.

Uruguayan defender Araujo had made his debut by replacing the injured Jean-Clair Todibo but was sent off 14 minutes later for a last-ditch challenge on Javier Hernandez, while Dembele was dismissed for protesting the decision.

Referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz explained in his report that he showed Dembele a straight red card for saying “very bad, you are very bad” and waving his arms at him.

The forward will be suspended from Barca’s next La Liga game at Eibar and is in danger of missing the ‘Clasico’ against Real, as players who have said similar words to referees in recent seasons have been handed two-game bans.

Barca’s scorer Vidal said they deserved the big victory.

“We were superior to them the whole time, we were always putting them under pressure and we are worthy winners,” he told reporters.

“We were up against a team who are good with the ball and on the wings but we dominated them in those areas.”

Lopetegui’s last visit to the Camp Nou was a painful affair as his then Real Madrid side were hammered 5-1 by Barca in his final game in charge before being sacked, and this was a similarly galling experience for the former Spain coach.

His Sevilla side created three clear chances to take the lead but missed them all as Dutch striker Luuk de Jong was thwarted by keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen and then missed the target, as did Brazilian midfielder Fernando.

The luckless De Jong then had a chance to strike back for his side early in the second half but hit the post, one of 16 attempts for Lopetegui’s side, who only found the target four times. Barca had 15 shots, with eight on target.

“It’s a crushing and undeserved defeat,” said Lopetegui. “We played very well, we were brave and we tried to do what we had worked on in training but we couldn’t take our chances.”

Sevilla midfielder Fernando added: “We had so many chances to score, but if you switch off for one second at the Camp Nou you get punished.”

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Messi has led the Barcelona side almost since making his first team debut as a 17-year-old and although there is no talk of him retiring in the near future, the fact is that he is now 32-years old and can’t go on forever.

“We think it is our obligation to work on the post-Messi era,” admitted Bartomeu in an interview in Spain.

“We are thinking about a post-Messi era because we are bringing in new players,” he said in reference to this summer’s signing of Antoine Griezmann and the arrival of Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele two years ago.

Coutinho has struggled to find his best form at the Camp Nou, but after a difficult first year Dembele last season showed he can be an important player for Barcelona.

“We have to think about this changing era when Messi will give up playing football but, as president, I hope that he is going to play with us for many more successful years” said the Barca President.

Barca have just returned from a week-long trip to Japan and the coming week wil see them continue with preparations for next weekend’s traditional Joan Gamper friendly game against Arsenal.

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