Menzi Magubane
Looks like Lionel Messi could be staying at Barcelona after all.
The signing of his close friend and countryman Sergio Aguero from Manchester City could convince him from staying at Camp Nou.
It is understood that Barcelona are ready to end speculation about the future of the Argentinian by offering him a staggering 10-year contract worth almost R4 billion.
Messi was expected to leave the club 12 months ago but he remained with Barca.
Newly elected Barca president Joan Laporta said: “Leo surely deserves more and could make more elsewhere but his desire is to make Barca great.”
Laporta said for Messi it was not about money.
“It is about the team and its chances of winning,” he said.
Barca’s current financial situation means that spreading his salary over a longer period of time could make a deal more viable in terms of cash flow.
From 2023, it is proposed he would join David Beckham’s MLS franchise, Inter Miami, where he will play for a further two seasons before hanging up his boots in 2025. After that point, it is suggested Messi will take on a position behind the scenes, with a job as a strategic partner and ambassador of the club.
Picture source:@barcastats
