Barcelona are set to officially announce Lionel Messi’s contract renewal in the coming days. The club will almost certainly break the news next week, after lawyers have reviewed the terms of the deal.
Messi is set to stay linked to the club for the next five years, he will have his salary halved and he will have a release clause of 350 million euros.
Some parts of his contract were difficult to reach an agreement on, while others were sorted in a matter of seconds. Here we look at how they reached fresh terms.
The salary reduction
Messi will earn half of the salary he received with his previous contract. There was no discussion about this and the player accepted the offer immediately, aware of the delicate situation the club finds itself in. He was always insistent that money was not an obstacle in the deal.
The money freed up can also be used to improve the squad ahead of the new season.
The length of the contract
This aspect of the contract was more complicated, with Messi finally renewing for five years. There were many suggestions put forward by the club in recent months, though, with 10 years being talked about, or two, or even a rolling contract. But, all were rejected.
It now remains to be seen whether the Argentine will see out the full five years or move to the MLS after two seasons.
Caution with the tax office
This was unnegotiable for Messi. He wanted to be absolutely certain that any payment agreed on was above board and legal.
For this reason, Barcelona worked closely with tax authorities to ensure legality and, after being given the green light, the player accepted.
