Sky Sports expert confirms Barcelona superstar hasn’t had contract talks as Manchester clubs lurk

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Barcelona forward Lionel Messi hasn’t held contract renewal negotiations with the club, according to Spanish football expert Guillem Balague.

The 29-year-old has been with the Catalan giants since 2001, and has well and truly established himself as a club icon and one of the greatest to play the game.

However, there has been concern over whether or not he’ll end his career with the Spanish outfit, as although his current contract runs until 2018, no new terms have been discussed as of yet over a deal to keep him at the club beyond his early 30s.

Both Manchester United and Manchester City have ruled out moves for the Argentine international this week, as noted by the official United site and FourFourTwo, but with no renewal talks started or planned, as noted by Balague, it still leaves the door open for either to swoop if Messi desires a fresh challenge.

“There has been no contract renewal offer from Barcelona. Negotiations have not started,” he said in a Sky Sports Q&A.

“There has been contact between Messi’s dad and Barcelona but negotiations haven’t started. Messi’s dad is still in Argentina but the first sit down will take place after the Clasico.

“There is no point in asking Messi now about his contract situation because there is nothing to report.”

It’s difficult not to see Messi sign a new deal and commit his long-term future to Barca and see his playing career out with the European giants.

However, the longer the wait goes on over a new contract, the more complicated the situation threatens to become and interested parties will be keeping a close eye on proceedings waiting to try their luck.

With over 450 goals for Barca, eight La Liga titles, four Champions League trophies and countless individual accolades so far in his career, it would just seem wrong to see Messi in any other jersey.

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