What’s stopping Barcelona from renewing Lionel Messi?
Lionel Messi is officially a free agent for the first time in his amazing and lengthy career with Barcelona. The Argentine who signed for the club’s academy back in 2000, went on to become the club’s most important player in their entire history and probably the most talented player in footballing history as well. The things Messi can do with the ball will seem impossible for others and thus it is not surprising that the Catalans tied down Messi to the club with huge contracts and bonuses.
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The last time the mercurial superstar renewed his contract with the Blaugrana was back in 2017. According to leaks from last year, the Catalan Captain made over 500 million euros from that contract, a number which made him the highest-earning sports personality of all time. The reason why Barca was comfortable paying that huge amount was because not only is the Argentine the best player of the modern generation, but he also brings in a lot of money via shirt sales and endorsements.
Messi was on the verge of leaving the club last season however, after a difficult and complicated battle with the former president of Barcelona, Josep Maria Bartomeu, the captain decided to stay on till the end of his contract. However, as the season went on Messi became more and more involved with the team and he went on to have a fantastic personal season, which made him want to stay on with the club.
Thus with Barcelona wanting Messi to extend his contract and the player himself wanting to stay with the club, why has the deal not been done yet? Clubs like Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain can initiate talks with the player due to his status as a free agent, and Barca should move fast in order to secure him. Here are three reasons why Barcelona has still not been able to secure Messi to the club,