Barcelona will reportedly struggle to afford Lionel Messi with the Argentine in line to be offered a new contract by the Catalan giants.
The 29-year-old has firmly established himself as a legend at the club having scored 476 goals in 551 appearances in all competitions while collecting countless trophies and accolades along the way.
While both parties will naturally want to extend their relationship further having now been together since 2001, the situation could be about to become a little complicated.
According to Marca, Messi currently earns €22m per year, a figure that is already pretty significant. However, he will expect to see that figure increase given the new deals recently handed out to Neymar and Luis Suarez and naturally he will want a salary that reflects the fact that he’s the best player in the world.
That could be problematic for Barca who are already under tight financial limitations, and so it presents them with a real headache with Messi’s current deal running only until 2018.
His father, Jorge Messi, is said to be scheduled to meet club president Josep Maria Bartomeu in the coming days having arrived in Barcelona, and negotiations will get underway with the player himself keen to commit his future, as per Marca.
Barca want to give Messi a ‘contract for life’ according to the report which will see him remain beyond his playing days, but it’s added that ‘it’ll be some time’ before an agreement is reached and that will only lead to concern and anxiousness as the wait goes on for him to put pen-to-paper on a new contract.
The Argentine’s class has shown no sign of decline this season as he edges closer to 30, but it will take a significant offer from Barca to ensure that he remains at the Camp Nou for the foreseeable future as the unlikely scenario of him leaving remains for now.