Barcelona sporting director Robert Fernandez is hopeful Lionel Messi will sign his new contract soon and put questions about his future to bed.
The Spanish giants announced back in July that Messi had agreed a new four-year deal but the 29-year-old is yet to sign it.
Messi’s current deal is due to expire in 2018 and he will be free to discuss terms with foreign clubs in January, leading to fears he could join Neymar in leaving the club.
However, Barcelona are confident that Messi will extend his stay with the club and Fernandez believes that day could come at any point in the near future.
“I point to our president’s word. [The signing] is an act which could happen at any moment,” ESPN quote Fernandez as saying.
“He’s come back from international duty [with Argentina], after a lot of travel and two tough games. He is capable of changing a game at any moment and the difficult thing he manages is to maintain that rhythm.”
Messi has made a sublime start to the new season in the wake of Neymar’s shock departure, earning the WhoScored Man of the Match award in all three league appearances for Barcelona.
In fact, only Ligue 1 strikers Edinson Cavani and Falcao (both 7) have scored more goals in Europe’s top five leagues this season than Messi (5), while only Neymar (9.50) has a higher rating than the Barcelona star (9.39).
