With 3 days to go before Lionel Messi's contract expires, when would Barcelona announce contract extension?

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi is currently busy leading Argentina in the ongoing Copa America. However, his contract for Barcelona expires in three days. Therefore, when would the club announce his contract extension?

Team Newsable

Barcelona, First Published Jun 28, 2021, 2:34 PM IST

Lionel Messi has a task at hand as he is leading Argentina in the Copa America 2021 and would be looking to steer the side to title glory. However, his club situation continues to remain dicey.

Since last season, Messi has been tipped to leave Barcelona following lack of success, while he reportedly lost faith in the club's management and the overall situation at the club. Nevertheless, new Barcelona president Joan Laporta had asserted that Messi would continue to stay at Camp Nou.

Interestingly, Messi's contract with the Catalan comes to an end after three days, while he is yet to sign a contract extension. As a result, it has left the world wondering if the Argentine would indeed sign for the club again or pursue a fresh challenge somewhere else, with Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain vying for his signature.

ALSO READ: Can Barcelona realistically afford Lionel Messi?

With 3 days to go before Lionel Messi's contract expires, when would Barcelona announce contract extension?-ayh

Meanwhile, Football Espana has reported that Barca will likely announce Messi's contract extension by next week. As of now, his current contract comes to an end on Wednesday (June 30), while he would become a free agent from Thursday (July 1) midnight.

It means Barca is likely to announce his contract extension after he becomes a free agent. The delay is expected to happen as Barca officials are waiting for Messi to get done with his Copa commitments for Argentina and do not want to distract him during this phase.

Nevertheless, it would still be interesting to see if Barca is actually able to pen the deal for Messi, citing the €1 billion-plus debt the club is currently under in right now. La Liga president, Javier Tebas, has already issued a warning to the Catalan, stating that its affordability of Messi depends on how much can it lower its wage bill on other players. Nonetheless, the club has let go of a few players and signed Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia for free, thus somewhat boosting its finances.

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Last Updated Jun 28, 2021, 2:34 PM IST