Barcelona remains confident that Lionel Messi will extend his stay and remain with the club beyond 2018 when his current deal expires.
Despite reports suggesting Messi is prepared to see out the remainder of his current contract before deciding his future, sources have told Samuel Marsden of ESPN FC that the Spanish club is remaining positive that an agreement will be reached once other players commit their futures.
Marsden indicates that new contracts for Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen could influence Messi to commit after the club managed to get Neymar, Javier Mascherano, and Sergio Busquets to recently put pen to paper on new deals.
On Monday, Marca reported that Messi’s recent dispute with tax fraud investigators, and his suspended 21-month jail sentence, was behind his uncertainty at the club.
Related – Report: Messi won’t consider new Barcelona contract until 2018
The report also claimed that Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu was in a state of “shock” after learning Messi could also be contemplating a departure before his contract expires in 18 months.
Catalan media, such as Diario Sport, was quick to …read more