LIONEL MESSI is set to sign a new Barcelona contract – but only if he can keep his get-out clause at the end of every season.
The Argentine great still has 18 months on his Nou Camp deal, but Barca bosses want to tie the club legend down to a new contract.
Lionel Messi is set to sign a new Barcelona contract if he can keep his get-out clause at the end of every seasonCredit: Getty Images – Getty
According to Mundodeportivo, Messi is open to extending his time with the Spanish champions but only on a season by season basis.
The report claims the 32-year-old will agree to extend his deal by a year after each season “plus one more indefinitely but reserving the option to cancel unilaterally every June 30.”
That means Messi can opt to terminate his Barca contract at the end of any season.
Talks were said to be underway in December as club president Josep Maria Bartomeu revealed Messi was eager to end his career at the Nou Camp.
He said: “Leo Messi will still play with us for the next two, three, four or five years. I have no doubts about that.
“Surely it will be the wish of all parties, if he (Lionel Messi) feels strong and ambitious, to extend this contract indefinitely.
“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.”
After Messi won a record sixth Ballon D’or at the end of 2019, he insisted there was no danger of him walking out on Barca after his contract expires.
He said: “The people at the club know me.
“They know there’s no problem beyond what the contract says. What I feel for this club goes beyond any signature or any role.
“So there isn’t a problem.”
New Barcelona manager, Quique Setién, celebrates after Lionel Messi bags only goal in his first match in charge
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
