Lionel Messi ‘agrees two-year Barcelona contract extension’… just two DAYS before deal expires
LIONEL MESSI has finally committed his future to Barcelona just two days before his contract expires.
The Argentine has put talk of his future to bed by agreeing to sign a two-year contract extension at the Nou Camp.
Messi’s future has been plunged in doubt ever since he demanded to leave the club last summer.
An expired clause in his contract forced him to stay for another year although he was free to leave from July 1.
However, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano writes how that is no longer the case with the club and player coming to an agreement.
Following the return of club president Joan Laporta in March, the club legend had been expected to sign on the dotted line.
Messi’s current contract sees him pocket around £584,000-a-week but he is expected to take a pay cut with the club saddled in debt.
Laporta recently revealed how the Barca icon would sign a new deal but issues came down to fulfilling Uefa’s Financial Fair Play initiative.
He said: “In economic terms, he has made it very easy, but financial fair play is another battleground.
“We have to follow the rules, we will follow them.”
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Barcelona are expected to put a host of players on the transfer list this summer in order to balance the books.
Philippe Coutinho and Miralem Pjanic are just two of the names up for grabs.
Reports in Marca also claim how Barca want to make Messi a club ambassador on a ten-year, £8.5m agreement that would run even if he signs for an MLS club.
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