Messi commits to Barcelona until 2021

BARCELONA: Lionel Messi has agreed to stay at FC Barcelona until 2021 in a deal that all but commits the star striker to playing out the rest of his top-flight career at the Spanish giants.

The megastar who joined Barcelona as a teenager 17 years ago will remain at the club until he is 34 under the new deal, the Catalan club announced Wednesday, ending months of speculation about the future of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

“The deal will be signed in the coming weeks, when Messi returns to the team for preseason training,” the club said in a statement, as the 30-yearold enjoyed his honeymoon just days after he wed his childhood sweetheart in Argentina.

Messi has hinted in the past that he would like to return in the future to Argentina to play for his very first club, CA Newell’s Old Boys in his hometown of Rosario, where he wed last week. But he has also said that his priority is to win more honours with Barca, the club he has called his home since he was 13.

No financial details of Messi’s new contact were disclosed, but Spain’s Marca sports daily reported on Tuesday that the deal included a 300-million-euro ($340million) termination clause.

Under his current contract, due to run out in June 2018, Messi earns around 20 million euros a year in salary, according to Spanish media -- and this didn’t include millions of euros in revenues earned from ads and performance-linked bonuses.

Messi joined FC Barcelona in 2000 when he was just 13 years old in the youth training centre.

“He made his first team debut at just 16 years of age in a friendly against FC Porto, before making his debut the following season against Espanyol at 17,” the club said in a statement.

“Shortly after, he scored his first senior goal with a clever lob against Albacete at the Camp Nou.”

The deal announcement is likely to reassure fans and members of FC Barcelona, which has had a disappointing season by the club’s own high standards.

The club was eliminated from the Champions League in the quarter finals by Juventus, and came second behind arch-rivals Real Madrid in La Liga, though Barca did win the Copa del Rey.

Messi’s contract extension consolidates the much-feared “MSN” striking trio which also includes Brazil’s Neymar and Uruguay’s Luis Suarez. - AFP