Lionel Messi Contract: Latest News, Rumours on Negotiations with Barcelona

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has reportedly agreed to extend his contract with the football club. 

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Messi Close to Camp Nou Extension

Sunday, July 17

Mundo Deportivo (h/t Alex Bywater of MailOnline) reported the forward’s father, Jorge, has given the go-ahead to a new deal.

The newspaper (h/t Football Espana) added that the Argentina international is set to be given a boost in salary as part of the new agreement.

The 29-year-old’s deal expires in 2018, and it’s suggested by Bywater that after the club tied Neymar down to a long-term deal earlier this summer, the next priority was to do the same with Messi.

Should an agreement be reached before the 2016-17 term starts in August, it’d be a bright spot at the end of a disappointing summer for the player.

Messi endured more heartbreak with Argentina at the Copa America. For the second successive summer, they lost on a penalty shootout to Chile in the final, with Messi missing his effort. A loss in the final of the FIFA World Cup in 2014 means it's three major final defeats in as many summers for the Albiceleste.

Mike Stobe/Getty Images

Things have also been tough for the Barcelona man off the field. He was hit with a 21-month suspended prison sentence for tax fraud earlier in the summer.

The Blaugrana have backed Messi emphatically in the aftermath of the verdict, launching an initiative to support the player with an accompanying hashtag of #WeAreAllLeoMessi. Now it seems as though they’re ready to make the backing tangible in the form of a new contract.

That’s no surprise. As these numbers from OptaJoe show, Messi has been one of the most prolific players in European football for a long time:

Messi evidently means a lot to all those tied to Barcelona as well. His link-up play with Luis Suarez and Neymar has also been spectacular over the course of the last couple of campaigns.

There’s still a lot more to come from this great of the game, and after a rough recent spell, you sense there’d be plenty of people in Catalonia breathing a big sigh of relief if Messi were to commit to many more years with Barcelona.