On July 1st 2021, a cetain Lionel Messi became a free agent, since his contract with Barcelona ran down. And to this day, he remains unsigned…on a more serious note, the best footballer in the world is still on holiday, because his contract with the Catalonians is still not finished, but according to Spanish media, it will be announced in a matter of days.🎙| Joan Laporta: “Messi’s case is still not completely resolved, but it’s progressing well. He wants to continue at Barça. There is a good chance that Messi will be a part of the squad for the Joan Gamper trophy on the 8th of August.” pic.twitter.com/lCSJfIpZof— BarçaTimes (@BarcaTimes) August 2, 2021 According to „Sport“, the conctract is finally agreed, as Messi’s father Jorge got involved in the negotiations to thrash out last final details and the deal will be announced to the world in the next couple of days. However, Messi won’t excape a huge wage bill of 50%, but that’s something the Argentinian already knew and agreed to, proving once again his desire to stay with his only club outside Argentina. He also won’t be able to play once again against Cristiano Ronaldo, as the contract won’t be signed in time for Juventus friendly, scheduled on Sunday, 8th of August.A new contract should be a five year deal with only 38 million Ksh a week wage for the Argentinian. That means that if Messi honours his contract until the end, he will be 39 years old when he is done with Barcelona. A bit odd, considering the fact that he already stated couple of times that he wants to end his career in USA. A 39 year old footballer, even called Messi, won’t be a super star in America, at least on the field.An important UEFA rule is the main obstacle for Messi’s contract renewalLa Liga repeated their warning that Barcelona’s spending must be further decreased, if the club wants to be registered for the new season, so the Catalonians continue to negotiate wage deferrals with some of their highest earners, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto who are asked to reduce their salaries up to 40 %. Barca has been trying to sell some big earners too, but transfers of Pjanic, Coutinho, Umtitti or Griezmann are far from being over, or even discussed, as the players want to leave the club under their own conditions, knowing that Barca are in trouble and can’t command the terms.
