Barcelona star Lionel Messi is out of contract at the Camp Nou at the end of the current campaign and in less than two months he will be free to negotiate a contract with other clubs.
As outlined by an explainer in Diario Sport, there is now a lack of clarity over which club official will be able to negotiate his renewal at the Blaugrana on the club’s behalf.
It comes after the Messi news that he confirmed he was staying at the Camp Nou for this season, although he clarified that he was less than happy to be doing so, after threatening to leave the club on a free transfer this summer.
Barcelona news had been dominated by Messi’s demands to leave the club in the close-season and his future at the club beyond this current campaign is now unclear.
The resignation of club president Josep Maria Bartomeu has left a power void on how to deal with contract extensions as interim president Carlos Tusquets is unlikely to negotiate such a significant move in his short-term stay.
Tusquets has said that the club’s presidential elections are likely to be held in January and in quotes carried by Diario Sport last week, he said Barça will “call them (elections) as soon as possible as long as the health conditions and restrictions allow.”
However, that is likely to be too long a wait for the new president to negotiate Messi’s extension.
With this in mind, the report explains that it is likely to be the club’s boss Ronald Koeman will be the individual tasked with persuading the player to commit his future to Barcelona.
