Messi agrees five-year Barcelona contract, takes huge pay cut - ESPN

According to ESPN, Lionel Messi and Barcelona have struck an agreement for Messi to sign a new five-year contract with the Catalan club, with the striker accepting a hefty wage cut to extend his stay.

Messi was a free agent after his Barca contract expired, and he has sparked interest from PSG and Manchester City since announcing his wish to end his 20-year association with the club last summer. The 34-year-previous old's deal, which lasted four years and cost over €500 million, expired on June 30 at 12 a.m.

However, with the return of Joan Laporta as president in March, Messi grew more open to staying at Camp Nou. An official announcement is expected in the coming days.

Laporta had hoped to finalise an agreement before Messi’s previous terms expired. Barca’s financial problems made that impossible, though, with their gross debt over €1 billion. Cutbacks have been essential, in terms of transferring players out, reducing the wage bill and getting Messi to accept a lower salary.

La Liga president Javier Tebas had warned Barca they would not be allowed to register Messi’s new deal if they were unable to reduce spending to comply with the league’s financial fair play rules. Barca’s spending limit has been reduced from over €600m to €347m since the coronavirus pandemic, with further reductions expected to be imposed for the upcoming season.

Messi is on holiday with his family following his Copa America glory with Argentina last weekend, which was his first senior trophy with his national team.

He will link up with Ronald Koeman’s squad later in the summer, with Barca’s league campaign kicking off on August 15 against Real Sociedad at Camp Nou.

Messi had first expressed a desire to leave Barca last August after the 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League. His relationship with then-president Josep Maria Bartomeu had reached a breaking point. In a September 2020 interview with Goal, after Barca had blocked his departure, Messi called Bartomeu a “liar” and said the board had been “making things up as they go along” and “plugging holes” for years.

Bartomeu, facing a vote of no confidence, resigned last October and was eventually replaced by Laporta in March. Laporta has a good relationship with Messi and his family. He was Barca’s president when Messi made his first-team debut and when he signed his first professional contract with the club.

The report claims that Laporta was working on a contract renewal for Messi in April that included the option of playing in Major League Soccer before returning to Barcelona.

In public and in private, Laporta had always maintained that he was “convinced” he could persuade Messi to stay. The club have already made a series of signings this summer, bringing in Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia, as well as recalling Emerson Royal.

Messi joined Barca's academy in 2000 and has since played 778 games for the club, beating Xavi Hernandez's previous season appearance record. He has 672 goals for Barcelona, which is a club record, and has helped them win 10 La Liga crowns and the Champions League four times.