Lionel Messi agrees to stay in Barcelona, new deal set to be signed

FC Barcelona fans will be delighted to hear that Lionel Messi has reached an agreement with the club, and will be signing a new two-year contract extension.

Spanish media outlets are abuzz with the news, but no official announcement has been made by Messi's camp nor by FC Barcelona itself. Marca reports that an agreement has been reached, and Messi only needs to affix his signature on the new deal in order to make it official.

The reports come just weeks before Messi's current contract expires on June 30. His future has been the subject of numerous speculations over the past year, especially after he openly declared his desire to leave the club last summer.

Fans were disappointed that deal had not been reached by the end of the season, and Messi left Barcelona to join Argentina for the Copa America without his future being decided. Last week, Barcelona was finally able to put forward a formal offer, even as they continue to await the results of a financial audit.

Club president Joan Laporta said on Friday that the contract talks are progressing well, and it appears as though he has now achieved his goal of convincing Messi to stay. The news of Messi's impending contract extension comes just days after his childhood friend and Argentina teammate, Sergio Aguero, was confirmed to have signed a two-year deal with Barcelona.

Messi is already in Argentina, and it is said that there are still some fine details that need to be settled in the contract. It will be an agonizing wait for the confirmation, if both sides decide to wait until the conclusion of the Copa America.

Messi will be aiming to lift his first major trophy with his national team, after constantly being trolled by football fans and media for failing to lead his national team to glory. However, the Copa America itself is in danger of being cancelled, after Colombia and Argentina were both forced to give up hosting duties. Colombia is in the midst of civil unrest while Argentina is battling a surge in Covid-19 cases.

Organisers have been facing a lot of criticism for choosing to move the event to Brazil, which happens to be one of the most badly-hit countries during the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic.