JAKARTA - Lionel Messi is rumored to be signing a new five-year contract at Barcelona and taking a 50 per cent pay cut, The Guardian reported on Thursday.
Messi has spent his entire professional career at Barcelona after making his debut as a teenager in 2004, but his contract expired in early July and has remained on a free transfer until now.
The Argentina captain will not embark on a new challenge outside the Camp Nou any time soon, with Barcelona set to announce a new long-term contract for the six-time Ballon d'Or winner.
LOS NÚMEROS DEL 10 Leo Messi fue elegido el mejor Jugador de la CONMEBOL #CopaAmérica y estos fueron sus números en el torneoThe applause #VibraElContinente pic.twitter.com/5v7PWnExf8
— Copa América (@CopaAmerica) July 13, 2021
Messi earned 550 million euros (around Rp9.44 trillion) during his last five-year contract at Camp Nou, which equates to around 75 million euros (Rp1.28 trillion) per season.
However, Barca were unable to provide the 34-year-old with a contract extension of the same value as it would see the Catalan club exceed La Liga's salary limit rules at the end of the 2020-21 season.
Liga president Javier Tebas has warned that Barcelona cannot legally register Messi without cutting their salary spending significantly.
Barca themselves have sold Junior Firpo, Jean-Clair Todibo, Carles Alena and Juan Miranda to raise additional funds.
Messi has also agreed to halve his annual salary to re-sign his contract with Barca and they will officially announce the player's new contract in the coming weeks once some minor details are finalized.
Clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City and Inter are known to be interested in signing the player who has just won his first international trophy with Argentina.
Messi's boyhood club, Newell's Old Boys in Argentina and David Beckham's MLS club Inter Miami also had time to seduce the player to join.
Messi has received several official offers, including an attractive proposal from PSG, but he has finally decided to stay with Barcelona and will continue to play there until 2026 - where he will be 39 years old.
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