Barcelona ready for talks with Lionel Messi over a new deal
Barcelona are ready to offer talisman Lionel Messi a contract extension until 2023.
The 32-year-old currently has a deal until 2021 but president Josep Maria Bartomeu has informed Messi’s father Jorge that he intends to hold talks over a contract extension, according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo.
Messi has returned to Argentina for the Christmas break and Bartomeu is expected to hold talks with him in Rosario next week.
It comes after Bartomeu, whose stint as president will end in 2021, made the bold claim of reassuring supporters that will not be leaving the club.
Messi recently revealed he turned down the offer of a lucrative lifetime contract at Barca, because he did not want to be completely tied down by the club.
Now, however, Bartomeu has told fans that he expects Messi to stay, suggesting he could be with Barca for another five seasons.
‘Leo Messi will still play with us for the next two, three, four or five years. I have no doubts about that,’ Bartomeu said.
‘Surely it will be the wish of all parties, if he (Lionel Messi) feels strong and ambitious, to extend this contract indefinitely,’ said Bartomeu.
Barcelona 'set to offer Lionel Messi a new contract until 2023.#nova88 #nova88official #LionelMessi pic.twitter.com/klunpnMmd8
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‘Ultimately it is he who must decide. He has earned the right to decide when he will stop playing football. But like he said a few weeks ago, he wants to finish his playing career at Barcelona.
Though Messi is under contract until 2021, a clause inserted within his current deal means the club could see him leave the Nou Camp for nothing in the summer