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| Bad news for opposition defenders... Lionel Messi is here to stay |
Lionel
Messi has extended his contract at Barcelona until 2018, when he will be 31. Messi’s previous deal ran until 2016 but negotiations have been
swift and he has expressed a desire to see out his career at Camp Nou.
The Argentina
captain’s formal buy-out clause remains at
€250 million and his salary, which is heavily
driven by incentives, is understood to begin at around €11
million a year net.
Barcelona also announced that Xavi Hernandez and Carles Puyol have renewed their contracts until 2016.
Puyol’s
current deal was due to run out at the end
of this season while Xavi had two years left to run. Xavi is 32 and Puyol 34.
Speaking on
Tuesday, Barcelona
club spokesman Toni Freixa
said: “It just happened that an agreement
they have was reached today just as it could have done on any other day. It is
a coincidence, not a strategy.”
Messi,
who is in the running for a fourth successive world player of the year award, admitted a month ago that
he had not yet talked to Barcelona about a new deal but
said he did not anticipate any
problems.
His deal has been periodically updated since he made his
first-team debut in October 2004. Messi’s last contract was signed in September 2009 having been
drawn up by previous
sporting director Txiki Beguiristain, who is now at Manchester City.
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| Midfield Maestro Xavi Hernandez |
“Puyol, Messi and Xavi are three basic pillars and it was
necessary that they continued to be attached to the club,”
said Freixa. “The board are extremely satisfied to
be able to give a successful project continuity with the renewals
of Xavi, Puyol and Messi.”
Puyol
is the club captain while Xavi has played more games and won more trophies than
anyone in Barcelona’s history. Together they have won three European Cups, with
Messi having scored a record 90 goals this calendar year.
Messi’s deal comes as little surprise, even if negotiations were
concluded very quickly.
Xavi’s renewal had also been anticipated,
although 2016 means that he will remain under contract until
the age of 36.
News of Puyol’s deal is little more unexpected. Negotiations had been going on for longer
and his existing contract expired on June 31.
Other defenders had signed
deals before he had and progress appeared slower with the captain.
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| Barcelona's most successful captain Carles Puyol |
The
most striking thing about Puyol’s deal is its length. Having previously renewed on
short-term deals, this time he has signed up for a further three years. He will
be 38 when the deal expires.
Puyol
recently said: “I
hope to keep playing until I am 40 but I do not
want to be a burden.”
