Lionel Messi has reportedly agreed to a 50 per cent pay reduction to secure a new five-year contract with Barcelona.
The Argentine star will be 39 by the time this latest deal expires with reports in Spain saying everything is now agreed in principal.
Messi is officially a free agent after his last Nou Camp contract expired at the beginning of this month but is now set to commit to his one and only club for what could be the remainder of his playing career.
Lionel Messi has agreed ‘in principle’ to sign a new five-year contract with Barcelona
The Argentine, 34, will take a substantial pay reduction to remain at his one and only club
Diario Sport reported on Wednesday afternoon that Messi has agreed to cut his £500,000-a-week wages by half with money never the issue in negotiations.
Messi understands the financial pressures on the club following the Covid-19 crisis and wanted to set an example to the rest of the Barcelona squad.
Sport say the issue of taxation was a greater sticking point with neither side wanting to get anything wrong.
They add that although the new contract has only been agreed in principle, it is unlikely anything will stop Messi putting pen to paper and extending his 21 years on the club’s books.
Messi helped Argentina win the Copa America last week, his first major international honour
Now on holiday, Messi is expected to formalise his new Barcelona deal later this month
Messi (pictured holding the Copa del Rey trophy) saw his contract at the Nou Camp run down
The formal announcement on the contract, which has a termination clause of some £320m, is expected to take place at the end of July.
Messi is currently on holiday following Argentina’s success in the Copa America, which finally delivered him a major international honour.
There had been reports Messi would head to MLS in the United States, possibly with Inter Miami, for a new challenge in two years’ time but his new contract commits him for longer.
The 34-year-old scored 38 times in 47 matches for Barcelona last season and he now has an astonishing record of 672 goals in 778 games for the club.
This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk
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