Lionel Messi has reportedly returned to Barcelona from his holiday, and the player is now expected to sign a contract extension with the club.
The Argentine international is currently a free agent after his contract expired at the end of June.
The player was on wages of around £500,000 a week, but he has agreed to take a 50% pay cut to help the club cope with their financial crisis.
Messi recently guided his country to Copa America glory, and he is set to strike a new deal with the Catalan club next week. The new deal will reportedly keep the Argentine at Barcelona for the next five years.
Initially, Messi was linked with a move away from the Spanish club with the likes of PSG and Manchester City mentioned as potential destinations.
However, it seems that club president Joan Laporta has managed to convince the Argentine to continue at the Spanish club for the foreseeable future.
Barcelona are under financial pressure right now, and they are struggling to comply with La Liga‘s salary cap.
The Spanish giants have not only struggled to agree on an extension with Lionel Messi on current terms there also struggling to register their new signings. Barcelona have already signed the likes of Eric Garcia, Memphis Depay and Sergio Aguero on free transfers, but none of those players have been registered.
Barcelona will not be able to register any new players unless they reduce their wage bill in the summer.
It will be interesting to see if the Spanish giants can sort out their financial crisis and register Aguero, Messi, Depay and Garcia in the coming weeks.
