Barcelona is confident that Lionel Messi is not going anywhere, but the best attacker of his generation and probably ever will not sign a new deal before the end of his current contract.
Yes, that means Barca risks losing him on a free, but the club isn’t too worried abut it (at least publicly).
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Club president Josep Maria Bartomeu says Barcelona will offer Messi a lifetime contract, but Marca is reporting both good and bad news on that front.
The good? Messi won’t trigger his exit clause in June.
The bad? He won’t sign a new deal until next season.
The report says leaving Barca “hasn’t crossed his mind,” and that he “has no intention” of doing so. That would make the new contract a bit of a moot point; If Barca knows he will stay, they just write down the present highest salary in the world on a piece of paper at that time and he signs.
Messi has 612 goals and 247 assists in 698 appearances for Barcelona. That is pretty good.