London
Lionel Messi’s contract with Barcelona came to an end Wednesday with no news from the player or the club about his future.
The expectation is that the 34-year-old Messi, who is playing with Argentina at the Copa America, will stay at the Catalan club.
He reportedly had been close to reaching a deal to extend his contract for two more years.
According to Barcelona president Joan Laporta, the club’s financial situation has caused the delay in agreeing another deal with Messi.
“We want him to stay and Leo wants to stay, it is all going well,” Laporta told Onda Cero radio. “We still have to deal with the issue of financial fair play.
We are in the process of finding the best solution for both parties.” Messi’s future has been a mystery since he had his request to leave the club denied at the end of the 2019-20 season.
He ended up staying and said he would reconsider his options when this season was over. A lot has changed since he announced he wanted to leave the club.
That decision was made not long after the team’s embarrassing 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, one of the worst defeats in the club’s and Mess’s history.—AP
