Lionel Messi is a free agent following the expiration of his contract at the end of last month, but Barcelona still hold hope of agreeing a new deal with the Argentina superstar
Lionel Messi’s Barcelona future is in doubt following reports that key Nou Camp stars are ‘refusing to take a pay cut’ to finance a new deal for the forward.
Messi is officially a free agent after his Barcelona contracted expired on June 31.
That means the 34-year-old is free to join another club, with Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain his two most likely suitors.
Of course, he could still stay at Barcelona. Talks over a new contract are believed to be ongoing, meaning Messi could remain in Catalonia.
However, that new deal could be dependent on the willingness of other senior stars to take a cut in their own salaries – something that currently seems unlikely.
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La Liga now have a salary cap for each club, which means Barcelona can’t make Messi a big offer without reducing the pay of their other top earners.
Journalist Victor Navarro (via Sport Witness) reports that several key figures in the squad do not support the idea, with many operating on the belief of ‘what is signed, is signed.’
Barcelona’s situation isn’t helped by a reported total debt of $1million, according to Forbes magazine
It means that with just over one month until Barcelona begin their 2021-22 La Liga campaign, Messi’s situation remains up in the air.
Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague claimed last week that the Catalan giants had “raised the level of urgency” over contract talks, but it seems unlikely a deal will be done while Messi is at the Copa America.
Balague told BBC Sport: “Barcelona are pushing for a quick solution but there are still things to negotiate and no news is expected on Thursday.” said Balague.
“They want him to sign as soon as possible, but the timings will be dictated by the resolution of all the details that have not yet been agreed – such as tax issues, Messi’s wages and fitting the new contract within La Liga’s financial fair play rules.
“To keep the Argentine, the club will have to reduce their wage bill by around 200m euros (£172m).”
