Barcelona to Open Talks with Messi over his Future

Lionel Messi

According to the reports, Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu has asked the club’s representatives to open talks with Lionel Messi over his contract extension.

The 32-year-old is in his final two years of the contract. His contract expires in June 2021, however, the Catalans have the option to trigger an extension until 2022.

The reports from ESPN suggest that Bartomeu will himself take charge of the negotiations with his father and agent, Jorge. The President of the Spanish club is very keen on keeping the 5 times Ballon D’Or winner at the club.

The argentine is the highest-paid player in the history of the sport, earning 1.7 million pounds per week. His current contract has a whopping release clause of 700 million Euros, second to Real Madrid’s striker Karim Benzema.

The Barcelona No.10 has scored 419 goals and made 166 assists in 452 appearances, more than any other player in the Spanish League. He has won La Liga Best Player of the year 6 times and La Liga Best Forward of the year 7 times.

Like Messi, other stars like Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal and Luis Suarez all have contract deals that will expire in 2021. Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets both signed extended terms at Barcelona last season.

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