Javier Mascherano has controversially claimed that his club and international teammate Lionel Messi is 'bigger than Barcelona'.

Messi has still not signed a new long-term deal at Camp Nou amid suggestions that the Argentine could decide to depart the Spanish giants in search of a new challenge.

Mascherano, however, has urged Barcelona to do everything they can to keep "the best player in history", who has won 28 titles for the Catalan giants since making his first-team debut in 2005.

"[Messi] is indispensable, but the rest of us are dispensable," Mascherano told Barcelona's official magazine. "Leo is a unique player. We're talking about the best player in history, for this club and for the sport.

"Important people have left Barca in recent years, people that will stay in the club's history, but the team still works, it still wins. No, the club is bigger than any manager, than any player... except Leo. That's the reality, and you have to accept it."

Messi has drawn criticism for his lacklustre performance in Barcelona's 4-0 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their last-16 Champions League clash on Tuesday night.