Barcelona are planning to hand their star player Lionel Messi a new contract with a hope that he can end his club career at Camp Nou. The Argentine international’s contract with the Catalan club will run down in the summer of 2018 and the La Liga winners are planning to hand him a new deal in order to keep him at the club beyond his current deal.
According to Goal, the player’s father Jorge Messi has arrived in Catalonia to start the discussions over a new deal. The negotiations will start on December 16 and are likely to go on for several months before the player commits his future to his current employers.
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Barcelona have already secured contract extension deals for Javier Mascherano, Sergio Busquets and Neymar in recent times. Former Liverpool star Luis Suarez is edging closer towards putting pen on paper as well.
After securing a new contract for the Uruguayan international, the Catalan outfit will then shift their focus on Messi. They remain hopeful that they can tie down their star player to a new deal before the end of the 2016-17 season.
Paris Saint-Germain and Premier League outfit Manchester City have been long-time admirers of the South American forward. Therefore, Messi will have options if he chooses to turn down a chance to sign a new deal.
Before putting ink on the paper, Messi is set to consider several factors and he wants to understand the club’s project and their ambition to win titles.
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In addition to this, he is also keen on knowing the situation with Barcelona manager Luis Enrique, whose contract will expire at the end of the ongoing season. He has not signed a new deal to extend his stay beyond the summer of 2017.
The 29-year-old has still several years of top flight football left under his belt. In the past, he has expressed his desire to play for his boyhood club Newell in the later stages of his career. However, Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has stressed on numerous occasions that Messi will end his career at Camp Nou.
Meanwhile, Enrique has shed some light on Messi’s contract renewal talks.
"It reassures me and I welcome the start of negotiations for his renewal. He will join other players who will renew, and when it is announced, if it is announced, we will have to celebrate all of them. But for the moment I dare not make any prediction,” Enrique told during the pre-match press conference on Friday.
