Barcelona club legend Lionel Messi will not be rushed into signing the contract renewal he agreed at the Catalan club last month.
Blaugrana were concerned that Messi’s existing deal was due to expire in the summer of 2018 and the Argentine accepted a new three-year extension (until 2021), worth £500,000-a-week, made by the club’s hierarchy on July 5.
While Barcelona announced the news their maestro was staying via social media, the 30-year-old has not yet actually signed on the dotted line.
According to Marca, Messi won’t be hurried into officially signing those bumper new terms just yet – and is waiting to see what further business his club conduct in the transfer market.
Indeed, the Spanish giants are inching ever closer to deals for both Ousmane Dembele and Jean Michael Seri while a significant raid for Philippe Coutinho has stalled.
Sources close to Messi and his Barca team-mates have revealed the players are unhappy about the club’s transfer activity, the sale of star Neymar and the nature of the threadbare squad at Ernesto Valverde’s disposal following the Super Cup double-leg thrashing at the hands of Real Madrid.
On Monday, Messi was once again linked with Manchester City but it is widely expected he will conclude contract negotiations after returning from international duty with Argentina in September.
