La Liga

LIONEL MESSI will need to take a pay cut if he extends his Barcelona contract, according to a presidential candidate.
The club captain, 33, came close to leaving in the summer after falling out with the board.

Lionel Messi may have to take a pay cut if he extends his Barcelona stay beyond the summerCredit: Getty Images – Getty

He performed a dramatic U-turn to honour his contract, which has one year left to run at the Nou Camp.
But Toni Freixa warned Messi must slash his wages if he is going to pen a new deal and stay beyond the summer.
He told El Curubito: “With Leo we will speak calmly, face to face with Barcelona’s best interests at heart.
“To him, as to all the players who have to renew or sign, we will make an offer that, of course, will not be feasible to match the terms that he has had until now.

“It’s evident, and the members cannot be deceived, that the proposal that will be presented to him will not be the same as the one he has had until now, because income has fallen significantly and it will be necessary to find another formula.”
Barcelona have been hit hard by coronavirus and need to cut the wage bill by around £171million to help balance the books – while player sales are likely.
Stars already accepted a wage decrease, said to be as much as 70 per cent, in the spring amid the onset of the pandemic.
Gerard Pique, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Clement Lenglet and Frenkie de Jong all signed new deals on reduced wages last month.

Toni Freixa’s main priority is he becomes Barcelona president will be convincing Messi to sign a new contractCredit: AFP – Getty

And Freixa recognised Messi’s mammoth £500,000-a-week basic wages – pocketing him £26m a year before all his sponsorship deals and bonuses – are unsustainable going forwards.
Messi was heavily linked with Manchester City and a reunion with Pep Guardiola.
Paris Saint-Germain may also make a swoop, with the six-time Ballon d’Or able to enter pre-contract negotiations in January.
But for Freixa and the other presidential candidates hoping to replace Josep Maria Bartomeu, among the top priorities is getting Messi to stay at Barcelona.
He added: “You don’t have to conquer Messi or convince him with other things.
“You have to look him in the eye and talk with him to know what each party wants, what he wants and what Barcelona want.
“We think Messi still has a lot of football left to play.”

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LUIS SUAREZ is open to trying to persuade best pal Lionel Messi to sensationally quit Barcelona and join him at Atletico Madrid.
The Uruguayan former Liverpool striker was frozen out at Barca and ended up joining LaLiga rivals Atletico in the summer.

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez could be reunited at Atletico Madrid – if the Uruguayan gets his wayCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Argentine superstar Messi is set to quit the Nou Camp when his contract ends in May – but Manchester City remain favourites to sign the 33-year-old six-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Suarez’ transfer, including an on-off switch to Juventus which ended in up with the Serie A giants pulling the plug, infuriated Messi, who has built up a long-standing friendship with his fellow South American.
The pair clicked soon after Suarez, 33, joined Barca from the Reds in 2014.
Suarez has suggested he might try and convince Messi to join his fellow Argentine Diego Simeone in the Spanish capital – although he admits he does not know where the little maestro will be playing his football next term.

In an interview with Madrid newspaper AS, Suarez said: “I’ll always say it, Leo is mature enough to make the decisions he has to make.
“I will never ask him anything, on the contrary, I will always defend that where he is happy, he is happy, that he make the decision he makes. 
“If at some point the possibility comes up, then let him know, obviously I’m going to speak wonders of the club.

“But later, when it comes to raising something, I think it is he who has to decide and where he is happy will be the best.

“He is 33 years old and knows how to deal with every situation. I see him with the same enthusiasm that I saw him before. 
“Enjoying and not lowering your arms, which is important. Because, although sometimes the ball does not want to enter, it keeps trying. That says a lot about him.” 
Suarez and Messi have been close friends for six years.
Even their partners are close and the two families have been known to holiday together.
But one stumbling block could be Atletico’s inability to put together a mega-money financial package to convince Messi – with City ready to pay millions to reunited the Argentine with his old Barca boss Pep Guardiola.

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EDEN HAZARD has suffered another setback after testing positive for coronavirus.
The former Chelsea star is set to miss Belgium’s Nations League game against England on November 15.

Eden Hazard is the latest star to contract Covid-19Credit: Getty Images – Getty

He is also going to have to sit out of Belgium’s game against Switzerland on Wednesday.
Real Madrid confirmed in a statement that Hazard and team-mate Casemiro have contracted the virus.
The news comes just six days after Real Madrid star Eder Militao returned a positive test.
A statement from the Spanish side read: “Real Madrid C. F. would like to inform that our players Casemiro and Eden Hazard have tested positive in the COVID-19 tests carried out yesterday, Friday morning.

“All the other players and the technical staff from the first team, as well as all the employees of the club who work directly with them, tested negative in that same test.
“The club would like to confirm once again that everyone, with the exception of Casemiro and Hazard, tested negative in the antigen tests carried out that same morning.”
Hazard and Casemiro, along with Militao, will be unavailable for Sunday’s game against Valencia.
The positive test is the latest in a long list of setbacks for former Chelsea star Hazard.

Madrid star Casemiro has tested positive for coronavirus Credit: EPA

He has struggled to live up to expectations since his switch to the Bernabeu for £130million in 2019.
Hazard infuriated Madrid bosses by turning up to pre-season overweight in September.
And he has missed a whopping 35 games through injury since his move to Spain.
The 29-year-old went 392 days without even scoring a goal for Zinedine Zidane’s side.
But he ended his goal drought in October during the 4-1 win over Huesca.
Hazard raised further concerns as he limped off the pitch on Tuesday against Inter Milan.
However, he was back training on Wednesday after it was confirmed that he had sustained no significant damage.

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