Relief has come to fans of Messi and Barcelona as Lionel Messi has agreed to terms on a new contract with Barcelona.
The 34-year-old will take a 50 per cent pay cut to stay in Catalonia, and it is only a matter of getting the all-clear from the lawyers for the deal to be ratified.
The Argentine international, who has just won the Copa America, has technically been a free agent for two weeks now, but Blaugrana fans can rest easy knowing he has finally agreed to stay.
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According to the Spanish newspaper Marca, Messi and Barcelona reached an agreement on Wednesday and an official announcement will be made as soon as the finer details have been checked.
The news will be music to the ears of Ronald Koeman and everyone else at the club as well, with the new season just around the corner.
Confirmation might take a few days, or indeed until the end of the month, as the club still need to balance the books to make this deal work, but it is on its way and Messi will be a Barcelona player in 2021/22, ending months of speculation about his future.
It is expected that Messi’s new contract will be a long-term one, for five years, but there are still suggestions that in a couple of years he could be playing his football in the USA and acting as a club ambassador.
It seems that for now at least, however, both Messi and the club feel he can continue to contribute on the field for another five years.
Despite Messi’s previous contract expiring at the end of June, the Blaugrana’s social media accounts have continued to treat him as one of their own and their optimism seems to have been well placed.
Club president Joan Laporta and head coach Ronald Koeman have also been positive, especially the former, while Paris Saint-Germain was reported this week to have officially given up hope of luring Messi to the French capital.
While nothing has been signed just yet, it is simply a matter of time and Koeman can plan for the coming season knowing he’ll have Messi in his team.
