Lionel Messi has his current contract with Barcelona running till 2016, but it seems that the club aren’t waiting till the last minute or even close to that to renew it once more and improve his conditions (meaning salary) and prolong his future with the club.
I’m not sure Messi’s sees himself playing anywhere else, and it’s hard to believe he can feel anymore important and essential to the team than he does now, but it never hurts to see you’re appreciated. Only a month into the new season, Messi has already scored 10 goals in the first 7 matches in all competitions, quite on pace with his 73 goals from last season. Is it possible he shatters his own record?
Probably more than half the world believes there’s no better player in existence. Maybe ever, although that thought and belief belongs to less than half the global population, at the moment. Who knows what the consensus will be in a few more years. It’s safe to say that in Barcelona, they know it’s hard finding anything better than what they have right now.
It finishes in 2016, but it would be irresponsible to not improve his contract. You have to think about such things. Right now there is nothing scheduled, but this is a machine that is constantly in motion and things can change at any moment. The coaching staff think about next Sunday – we look further down the line and take the more distant future into consideration. Work has to start now on the contract that will take effect from 2016. (Sanro Rosell, FC Barcelona president)
If Cristiano Ronaldo is unhappy about being only the 9th-10th highest paid footballer in the world, making pretty much the same amount as Messi, why even enter that tricky situation? There’s been nothing unhappy about Messi and his club, not that anyone outside of it knows of, but there’s no reason to even reach the juncture in which there’s some sort of problems between the sides. The best player in the world, in Barca’s eyes, should be paid like one, or pretty close to that.
You never know what the future holds, but thinking ahead is always the right way to go. With Messi, 25, there’s no reason to take unnecessary risks, especially with everything that’s going on around – richer clubs snatching up players like there’s no tomorrow, and highly paid stars never feeling satisfied. Messi seems worlds away from everything the Cristiano Ronaldo represents, but these players have agents and families. No need to take a chance on keeping things as they are when there’s always a small risk that things might turn south in the relationship between the sides.