Barcelona president Joan Laporta insists the club are “making progress” in all aspects of the contract negotiations with Lionel Messi after the six-time Ballon d’Or winner’s previous deal expired.
Despite Messi technically no longer belonging to Barca, those associated with the club have portrayed a serene demeanour regarding a potential future agreement.
Even with his contract winding down, Barca officials have routinely affirmed that Messi’s desire is to remain at Camp Nou, though LaLiga’s salary cap rules mean he is reportedly set to be on half his previous wage should he ultimately accept a new deal.
However, the caveat that is thought to favour Barca in discussions is they are said to be offering Messi a five-year contract that would keep him at the club until he is at least 39.
While that may surprise some, Messi’s form in 2020-21 showed he is far from being finished, as he ended the campaign as LaLiga’s top scorer and managed 38 goals and 12 assists across all competitions, which translated to a goal every 110.3 minutes.
Similarly, he laid on 117 chances for others across all competitions. The fact Jordi Alba was the second most creative player in the Barca squad with 85 key passes only further underlined Messi’s remarkable influence, but Laporta is adamant talks are proceeding as planned.Related Articles
“The player has always said that he wants to continue [at Barca], there is no doubt about that,” Laporta said at the presentation of Memphis Depay on Thursday.
“We are making progress in all the negotiations involving a contract of this type. They are going very well and it is a wish that we all have [for Messi to sign].
“We do not hide the will that we want him to continue and to be here for many years.”
One player who is still signed to Barca but arguably has a more uncertain future than Messi is Antoine Griezmann, who could reportedly be involved in a swap deal that sees Atletico Madrid’s Saul Niguez arrive in Catalonia.
Laporta initially stressed Griezmann has a future at Barca, though he soon acknowledged he is not untransferable.
“He is a player in the Barca first team, he has a valid contract and we are counting on him,” Laporta said.
“The transfer market has started and practically nothing has happened. All the clubs are in certain difficulties.
“Players like Griezmann have a market, there are interested clubs and we are building our squad looking for financial balance. We are delighted with him and we are all professionals.
“Yes, the market is moving. We are open to all proposals because we are in a delicate moment and we are talking with all the players of the first team to see how they feel so that balancing acts hurt as little as possible.”
Source: livescore
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