Report: Lionel Messi To Agree To Two-Year Contract With Barcelona

Barcelona could finally seal a deal with Lionel Messi as the Argentine’s contract expiration approaches.

Messi's current contract with Barcelona is set to expire on June 30. With that in mind, the Catalan club is already running out of time to secure the six-time Ballon d’Or winner’s contract extension.

Widespread rumors have been linking Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain to a move for Messi, but as per renowned transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, it could be “just a matter of days” before Barca manages to complete a new agreement with the 34-year-old.

Romano further revealed that Barcelona has yet to set an announcement date, but Messi’s new deal will be a “two-year” contract extension.

“Barcelona has always been confident,” Romano recently said on The Here We Go Podcast. “ I’ve said many times on the podcast, President [Joan] Laporta has always been convinced that Leo is going to sign the new contract so it’s just a matter of days.”

“[On Thursday], the agent of Leo Messi, his brother, and his father, they will both be in Barcelona together with Leo for his birthday,” he continued. “They will be negotiating about the last things to be completed. It’s a complicated contract with many clauses and many details to be fixed, so they are working on these details with Barcelona. From what I’m told, the announcement is not scheduled yet so we need to wait to see when it will be announced. It will be a two-year contract with Leo Messi.”

Indeed, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has always been vocal about exhausting everything at his disposal to keep Messi.

In a recent interview with Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, Laporta insisted that the contract extension process is progressing, but he is hoping Messi would “say yes” sooner rather than later.

"I would like [Lionel] Messi to tell us ‘yes’ as soon as possible,” Laporta said. “He would help us in every way."

Laporta then added that Messi’s trusted friend Sergio Aguero is playing an important role in luring the skipper to stay.

"[Sergio] Aguero is helping,” the Barca chief revealed. “He is telling him [Messi] every day to stay. [Messi] is excited and I am grateful to him for the desire he is showing to stay."

Adding more color to Messi’s transfer saga, Barcelona is also considering a stunning move for his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo, Spanish outlet AS reported.

Though it sounds a bit bizarre for some, the report noted that Laporta is envisioning making history by pairing up two of the greatest players in modern football.