BARCELONA • Lionel Messi is ready to extend his stay at Barcelona, signing a new five-year deal with the Argentinian talisman set to take a wage cut, according to the La Vanguardia newspaper and ESPN yesterday.
Messi, Barca's all-time top scorer and appearance maker with 672 goals in 778 games, technically ended his 21-year association with the Spanish La Liga club last month and is currently a free agent after his contract expired.
He had previously attracted interest from French giants Paris Saint-Germain and English champions Manchester City when he first revealed his intention to leave Barca last summer.
The 34-year-old's last deal, signed in 2017, was the most lucrative in world sport according to a January report in Spanish daily El Mundo. ESPN reported that it was worth more than €500 million (S$800 million) over the four years.
Since Joan Laporta took over as Barca president in March, the club has been trying to reduce its wage bill in order to keep Messi and stay within the Spanish top flight's strict financial control rules, which were established to prevent clubs spending more than they earn.
The forward's new contract will see him take a "significant wage reduction" with various reports saying yesterday it could be as much as 50 per cent. ESPN said that "an official announcement is expected in the coming days".
There had also been reports that Messi could head to Major League Soccer in the United States in two years' time to see out his career, possibly with David Beckham's Inter Miami, but his new deal would now make that unlikely.
La Liga chief Javier Tebas said last week that Barca, which had a total debts of more than €1 billion, would not be shown any leniency with regard to the financial control rules.
He added that the only way for Barca to keep their captain was to get rid of more players, having recently sold left-back Junior Firpo to Leeds United and US international Konrad de la Fuente to Marseille.
Barca's spending limit has also been reduced from over €600 million to €347 million since the coronavirus pandemic, with further reductions expected to be imposed for the coming season.
The club has been trying to rebuild the squad with Jean-Clair Todibo and Carles Alena also being sold to make way for free signings Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia.
Messi, a six-time Ballon d'Or winner who has won multiple club trophies with Barca, finally clinched his first major international title with Argentina last weekend when they beat rivals Brazil 1-0 in the Copa America final.
He was elected the joint-best player along with former Barca team-mate Neymar of Brazil after finishing as the tournament's joint-top scorer with four goals. He also topped the assists chart with five.
Messi is now on holiday and will report back to the Nou Camp later in the summer, with Barca's La Liga campaign kicking off on Aug 15 at home to Real Sociedad as they hope to improve on last season's third-place finish.
REUTERS
