Lionel Messi has delayed his return to Barcelona amid stalled contract negotiations with the Catalan club.
Lionel Messi has delayed his return to Barcelona amid contract negotiations. The Argentine superstar agreed a new deal with the club last year, but is yet to sign it and will not be back until he does so. Read more in detail here: messi barcelona contract.
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As the wait for Lionel Messi to sign his new deal with Barcelona continues, he has yet to return to training with the club.
Barcelona’s first-team squad is still in Germany, where they’ve been for the last week, ahead of a friendly against FC Salzburg on Wednesday.
The only members of the team not on the trip are those that reached the Copa America final in July, with the exception of injured players and the three competing in the Olympic Games.
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Signing in the summer Sergio Aguero was supposed to resume preseason on Monday after a three-week break, but he returned a few days early and has been working out on his own at the club’s Barcelona training facility since Friday.
Emerson Royal, a Brazilian defender, had COVID-19 and medical tests on Monday before returning to training this week.
Messi was scheduled to return on Monday, three weeks after Argentina defeated Brazil in the Copa America final, but sources tell ESPN that the club and the player have agreed to postpone his debut date.
The forward would be able to use the club’s facilities as a free agent as long as he has sufficient insurance, but he has chosen to wait until his new contract is completed.
According to ESPN, the club is working hard to complete the deal before Sunday’s Joan Gamper Trophy match between Barcelona and Juventus.
On June 30, Messi’s contract with Barcelona ended, thus ending his 21-year association with the club. In July, ESPN announced that he had struck a preliminary agreement to sign a new five-year contract.
Lionel Messi has yet to report for preseason training with Barcelona. Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images/Quality Sport Images
The snag is due to Barca’s financial difficulties. To comply with LaLiga’s expenditure restrictions and register the new contract, the club must decrease its salary bill and bring in money via transfers.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta maintained there was no fresh information on Monday.
“We’re doing all we can,” he added. “It’s still not resolved, but it’s coming along well. We’ll do all we can to keep Messi at the club. He wants to remain. It’s moving forward as it should, but there are a few points that need to be addressed for both sides.”
Meanwhile, salary deferrals are still being discussed with Sergio Busquets, Sergi Roberto, Jordi Alba, and Gerard Pique’s agents. According to ESPN, there is a desire on both parties to reach an agreement, but further talks are needed.
And Laporta has allowed Ilaix Moriba, a kid, to quit the club if he so desires. Barca has offered the midfielder a new deal, which will expire in 2022, but no agreement has yet been reached.
“The Ilaix scenario cannot be replicated,” Laporta cautioned, “a club-developed athlete waiting for the last year of his contract to push the situation.”
“He refuses to extend his contract under the club’s terms.” We won’t stand for that, therefore we’ll send a message. He’s a fantastic player, but there are other options if he doesn’t extend his contract. I’m sorry, but the club must come first.
“I request that he and his team rethink and reach an arrangement. We will not promote a player [by playing him this season] in order for him to be able to join another club for free [in 2022]. I’m not sure why he doesn’t appreciate everything Barca has done for him. Anyone who wishes to leave is free to do so, subject to certain restrictions.”
After winning his first senior title in international football, Messi, 34, returned to Barcelona last week after a break in Miami and the Dominican Republic. At the city’s El-Prat airport, the Catalan club’s security team greeted him.
As the wait for his Barca future continues, he spent the weekend in Ibiza with Luis Suarez of Atletico Madrid and Cesc Fabregas of Monaco, as well as their respective families.
Barcelona will open the new season in LaLiga on August 15 when they face Real Sociedad.
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