Africa-Press – Nigeria. Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, is working on a new three-year contract for Lionel Messi, ESPN reports.
Laporta is aware the Spanish giants can no longer afford to pay Messi what he is currently earning which is around €75million net annually.
However, he is exploring different ways to keep the six-time Ballon d’Or winner at the club.
The idea is to offer the Argentine a longer deal, so that Messi is compensated over several years, to make up for the immediate reduction to his salary.
Messi, whose current contract expires at the end of this season, has previously said he prefers the idea of renewing on a year-to-year basis, according to the sporting project in place at Barca.
Laporta cannot stick to the terms of his deal moving forward, though, so he hopes to convince Messi with a two-year deal that includes the option for an additional year.
