Transfer Centre

Barcelona chief: 'Lionel Messi close to signing new deal'

By Daniel Lewis, Senior Reporter | 06 May 2017

Barca chief: 'Messi close to signing deal'

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi will likely commit his long-term future to the club by the end of the month, according to vice-president Jordi Mestre.

Barcelona vice-president Jordi Mestre has revealed that contract talks with superstar forward Lionel Messi are "on track" and likely to be finalised by the end of the month.

The Argentina international is soon to enter the final 12 months of his current Camp Nou deal and, according to a report in Madrid sports daily AS earlier this week, he has knocked back the club's latest offer.

Mestre admits that talks with the club's all-time leading scorer are still ongoing, but is adamant that a mutual agreement can be reached in the coming weeks.

"The truth is everything looks good," he told TV3. "Everything will end up well. If they're saying there are problems [with the talks] in Madrid, then I'm delighted to be able to contradict them.

"Lionel Messi's contract renewal is on track. I'd say we've hit the final straight and in a few weeks there will be news. I cannot give an exact date, but it won't be long."

Messi scored twice in Barcelona's 4-1 win over Villarreal on Saturday afternoon, taking his tally past the half-a-century mark for the season in all competitions.