Messi’s current deal expires in 2018 meaning he could leave Barca for free next summer.ON the same day Barcelona’s under-fire president Josep Maria Bartomeu again insisted a four-year contract extension for Lionel Messi has been signed, Neymar launched a staggering attack on the most powerful man at his former club.
Bartomeu, having earlier stated Messi’s new contract was signed – only for it to emerge it has not been signed – again insisted the player’s agent and father, Jorge Horacio Messi, have put their pen to paper on the contract.
Barca announced an agreement with the five-time World Player of the Year in July, but Messi himself is yet to put pen to paper amid rumours he is unhappy with the running of the
club.
“There are three contracts: one with Messi’s foundation, that is signed by the president of the foundation and the player’s brother; a contract with Leo Messi’s image rights, that his father and administrator of his company have signed; and the work contract that Leo’s father has signed.”
When pressed on the delay in Messi signing the deal, Bartomeu claimed both the player and club’s hectic start to the season was to blame and that it would be resolved within a month.
“There are no problems. All that is left is the protocol of the signature. We are calm,” he added.
Bartomeu and his board have received fierce criticism for their handling of the recently closed transfer window as Paris Saint-Germain enticed Neymar away from the Catalan giants for a world record 222 million euros ($263.7 million).
A vote of no confidence motion has been launched by former Barca presidential candidate Agusti Benedito that could oust Bartomeu if it receives enough support from the club’s members in the coming weeks.
Neymar has stepped into the debate, labelling Bartomeu a “joke” as the war of wards between Barcelona’s beleaguered board and the Brazilian star continued.
In interviews with Catalan newspapers Mundo Deportivo and Sport, Bartomeu claimed Barca would be better off without Neymar this season following his world record 222 million euro ($263.7 million) move to Paris Saint-Germain.
“This president is a joke,” Neymar replied in a comment about the news on social media site Instagram.
Neymar’s departure sparked a shopping spree from Barca, who landed 20-year-old French winger Ousmane Dembele for an initial 105 million euro fee from Borussia Dortmund and Paulinho for 40 million from Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande.
However, Barca missed out on a host of other targets, including Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho, blaming the rampant inflation in the transfer market caused by PSG and Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City.
La Liga has asked UEFA to investigate both PSG and City for breaches of financial fair play rules.
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