For a player who struggled to be fit in the beginning of the current season, watching instead, helplessly as his team struggled to play without him, Lionel Messi’s Ballon D’or triumph on Monday night was more than a night of celebration.
The Argentine is still months away before his contract expires and some fear he may call it quits sooner than later.
The 32-year-old’s contract will expire in 2021 and many believe both the club president and its Director of Football don’t have a clue on how to persuade Messi to remain at the club. Almost every deal they have closed has been more stressful than necessary.
Luckily for the worried fans, Leo states that the ties he has with Barca, be it contract or what not goes well and beyond whatever number that will be quoted to him when the time comes for him to renew his stay with the Catalans.
The Catalans for all the luck they accuse them of having by virtue of having Messi within their ranks were the ones who gave him his one and only break in football. The story of how most of his earlier trials with other clubs hit a wall because he was undergrown continues to be told till this day.
Watching him grow under Pep while avoiding the self-destructing tendencies that plagued Ronaldinho was a joy to watch.
The Argentine has since then become bigger than the club, in the eyes of the fans that is.
This is the reason why every contract saga since Messi started signing papers with Barca has always ended with the fans warning whoever was in charge to give Messi any number he wanted.
The forward will get whatever he wants come 2021. Promising to retire at Barca should be enough to make the club president act right.