Barcelona is reportedly in the process of drafting a new Lionel Messi deal to hold him in the club until 2023. The Argentine talisman has only a year left on his current deal at Camp Nou and has sometimes been linked to a move away from the club following reports of a fall-out with the board this season.
Barcelona has offered Messi a new contract, according to Spanish media outlet Mundo Deportivo, that will see him play at Camp Nou, at least until his 36th birthday. A one-year contract extension through 2021 has been given to the 32-year-old, with an option to extend it further by one year. This will guarantee his stay in Spain by 2023 or by his 36th birthday.
Many sources say that Messi’s Barcelona deal contains a special clause enabling him to leave the club as a private agent in any given year. The deadline for exercising this season’s option has however already expired. Negotiations to extend the deal are expected to be long and time-consuming and may last into next season.
Messi might have left on a free transfer before June 10, but now that the deadline has passed, Mundo Deportivo says Barca wants to tie him to fresh terms.
The report claims the deal would take him through until 2023, though Messi would have the option to terminate the contract by 2022 if he so wished.
To date, the 32-year-old has represented Barcelona for his entire career, scoring 629 goals for a club record in 720 games and establishing himself as one of the greatest footballers of all time.
Regardless of the coronavirus pandemic and the need to prioritize Barcelona’s La Liga title quest and Champions League campaign in the coming months, it is not thought that negotiations between the two parties have yet to begin.
The Spanish champions, however, are forced to sit back when he returns from Argentina to meet with Messi ‘s wife.
The Ballon d’Or ‘s six-time winner has scored in both games in Barcelona after play resumed after the coronavirus pandemic and taken him to 699 career goals for club and country.
