Barcelona President Gives Lionel Messi Contract Update, Insists Deal Is 'Signed'

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has made further assurances that Lionel Messi's future lies at the Camp Nou by saying the Argentinian superstar is "already playing under" the terms of his new contract.

He revealed that Messi's father has already put pen to paper on the 30-year-old's new terms to 2021 and explained the plan is for the official announcement to be made before the end of the year, per 8TV (via FourFourTwo):

"We will take the photo with Messi's signature, hopefully before the end of the year, but the contract has been signed by his father, who has the power of his image rights. This contract is signed until 2021 and he is already playing under it."

Barcelona endured a chastening summer in which they lost Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain for £200 million and failed to sign a number of other key targets to replace the Brazilian, including Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho, per Richard Martin on ESPN.co.uk.

However, they have started the 2017-18 season in fine fashion, winning four games on the bounce in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League without conceding a goal.

The Blaugrana's good form is, in no small part, down to Messi, who has netted seven goals in Barca's last three matches.

It is no surprise there are continuing concerns about the fact the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is now in the last year of his contract at the Camp Nou, despite Barcelona saying twice over the summer he had signed a new deal, per Spanish football writer Sid Lowe:

Bartomeu's latest comments could go some way to assuring Barca fans that Messi is set to stay at the club, but there is likely to be some confusion as to why there has still been no official announcement.

The contrast with Spanish rivals Real Madrid is worryingly stark, per Goal's Ben Hayward:

Barcelona will be desperate to take La Liga and Champions League holders Real down a peg in 2017-18, and new manager Ernesto Valverde has a big job on his hands to re-establish the Catalans as Spain's top club.

With Messi in his squad, that challenge becomes significantly less difficult. However, despite what Bartomeu says, there will continue to be concern over the Argentinian's Camp Nou future until he officially signs his new contract.