JAKARTA - The day that Barcelona fans fear the most has arrived. As of Thursday, July 1 at 00.00, Lionel Messi is no longer a Blaugrana player.
All 7,504 days after his first contract with the club was signed had expired. Messi had become a free agent at midnight, when June turned into July.
Joan Laporta has worked hard to convince Messi to renew his contract. But the efforts of the Blaugrana's newest president have often failed.
However, this does not mean Messi is leaving Barca, as those in charge at Camp Nou believe his captain will sign a new contract and continue to wear the blue and red colours.
However, at this point, Messi is not a Barcelona player.
The club's financial problems prevented a new deal from being signed before the 30 June expiration date. The relationship between Laporta and Messi's father is excellent, but there are some aspects of the new contract that still need to be finalized.
Launching Marca, Thursday, an agreement could be reached in the near future, perhaps in a few days.
Laporta, who has urged fans to remain calm, wants Messi to sign a new contract as soon as possible. He didn't like seeing Messi's non-Barca status, even if it was only for a few days.
Sponsors also do not like this condition, both existing and potential new partners.
Nike, for example, wants to promote a new jersey and they can't advertise it with Messi, at least for now. That's just one example, but other sponsors don't want to sign a new contract if Messi is not guaranteed to be part of the Catalan club's future.
Barcelona also wants to announce Messi's contract renewal to end speculation and rumours.
It seems that no other club is ready to try to convince Messi to sign for them now, something other teams have been legally allowed to do since January.
Barcelona doesn't like that Messi is a free agent at the moment. However, for now, that was the reality.
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