Lionel Messi ‘agrees new deal at Barcelona’ that will see him spend two seasons at David Beckham’s Inter Miami side… before returning to the Nou Camp as a ‘global ambassador’
- Lionel Messi is reportedly close to agreeing a new ten-year deal with Barcelona
- It will see him spend two more years at the Nou Camp before joining Inter Miami
- The 33-year-old will then play for David Beckham’s MLS side for two seasons
- Deal ensures Messi will return to Barcelona in a global ambassadorial position
Lionel Messi is believed to have agreed a new deal at Barcelona that will see him join David Beckham’s Inter Miami side for two years.
The Barcelona icon was close to leaving the club last summer, and his future is once again uncertain with a contract to extend his time at the Nou Camp still yet to be finalised.
However, according to Sport, a new deal is close, and will see him spend another two seasons at Barcelona before moving to America to star for Beckham’s club.
Lionel Messi is believed to have agreed a ten-year contact to secure his Barcelona future
The Argentine icon will spend two seasons at David Beckham’s Inter Miami side as part of deal
It’s reported Messi will spent two seasons in Miami, before returning to Spain and becoming a strategic partner at Barcelona with an off-field role as part of the ten-year deal, such as a global ambassador.
The 33-year-old will take a significant pay cut in the new contract, but the wide-ranging nature of the deal appears enough to have convinced him to once again commit his future to Barcelona.
Messi hinted at the nature of the deal earlier this year, when he revealed his wish to play elsewhere while still keeping his links to the club he made his debut for in 2003.
‘My plan is to give all I can for the club at the moment,’ Messi told Spanish TV station La Sexta.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta recently revealed he was confident Messi would stay
‘I would like to play in the United States and experience life and the league there, but ultimately come back to Barcelona in some capacity.
‘I’m not thinking too far ahead in the short-term and just want to see how the season finishes.’
Barcelona’s poor financial situation means that spreading the cost of the contract out over the ten years of the deal makes an agreement more viable.
The arrival of Messi’s friend and international team-mate Sergio Aguero on a free transfer may also have been a boost as the Barcelona captain considered his next move.
Messi spoke a couple of months ago of his desire to one day experience playing in the MLS – he is pictured with Beckham before a Champions League match against PSG in 2013
Joan Laporta was elected as the club’s president earlier this year, pledging to secure Messi’s future, and he insisted last week he was confident of convincing the talisman to stay.
‘Leo surely deserves more and could make more elsewhere, but his desire is to make Barca great,’ Laporta said.
‘I am sure that he appreciates the effort we are making, and I think that he is excited and motivated by the project we are building.
‘For Leo, it is not about money, it is about the team and its chances of winning. Leo, above all, wants to feel comfortable, to feel appreciated. And then to win.’
