Messi’s future has been up in the air for around 12 months since the Argentina international attempted to depart the club last summer. FC Barcelona managed to keep hold of him for another season, but Messi is now just weeks away from becoming a free agent.
Man City and PSG are among the clubs keeping close tabs on the 33-year-old’s situation. But according to AS, Messi is edging ever closer to agreeing on an extension to keep him at Camp Nou.
According to AS, Lionel Messi is on the verge of agreeing a new two-year contract with Barcelona, putting an end intense speculation over his future at the club, via @Eurosport_UK
— Victory News (@VictoryVirgNews) June 2, 2021
FC Barcelona are hopeful that their greatest ever player will put pen to paper before the Copa America begins in Brazil on June 13. The return of Joan Laporta for a second spell as president has helped Barcelona convince Messi to stay put. The signing of Sergio Aguero, his roommate on international duty, will also have done the Blaugrana no harm.
“Messi’s contract renewal does not depend on the audit,” Laporta said on Tuesday, addressing Barcelona’s well-publicised financial troubles.
“I said the other day that talks are going well and they are progressing. We more or less have the results of the club audit.
“For this operation we set aside a reserve and we prepared a strategy. We want to make him an offer. Things are going well, but it is not a done deal yet.
“The thing with Leo is that it is not a matter of money from his side. From our side, we know the limits of the possibilities we have and he is showing a lot of understanding. He wants to stay and we will try our best to make that happen.
“We are ready and the sooner the better. Because that way the doubts will be dispelled and we can go about building the team more quickly.
“The sooner we have everything in place the better, because there is enthusiasm to get it settled and the relationship we have is good.”
Barcelona will announce Emerson’s signing today
According to the ever-reliable Fabrizio Romano, Barcelona are set to continue steamrolling in the transfer market this week as their seemingly never-ending business will now witness the signing of Emerson Royal, bringing him back from Real Betis.
Romano confirms that Barcelona have exercised the buy-black clause in the Brazilian’s contract, which will see him return from Real Betis for a nominal fee, and that the club will announce his signing soon, on the 2nd of June.
Gini Wijnaldum will join Barcelona, no doubt. Barça are working on the contracts to complete the signing in the next days. Verbal agreement until June 2024 confirmed ??? #FCB
Today Emerson Royal will be also announced as new signing.
Sergio Busquets is not on FC Bayern list. https://t.co/sipUp9NmdJ
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 2, 2021
After confirming the arrivals of Eric Garcia and Sergio Aguero, Barcelona are also very close to completing the deal with Georginio Wijnaldum. They have a verbal agreement with the Liverpool midfielder for a contract till 2024.
Meanwhile, Emerson has been highly sought after as Barcelona look to reinforce their right-back position to provide more competition to Sergino Dest, as Sergi Roberto seems set for a departure in the coming months.
The fullback has already stated that he wishes to play for Barcelona and that it would be a dream come true. Emerson has enjoyed a great season with Real Betis, which has once again alerted the Barcelona board’s radar as a prospective long-term investment.
Barcelona may have to pay Los Verdiblancos a reported sum of around six to nine million euros. Emerson will be the third signing of Barcelona’s summer already, with Wijnaldum set to be the fourth in a week that Laporta has already dedicated to signings.
