Barcelona's Lionel Messi: free... to renew his contract with the club

Lionel Messi's contract with Barcelona expires on Wednesday and on Thursday, for the first time in his career, he could become a free agent.

Negotiations to extend his stay at Barça are advanced, with just the final details to be agreed, but it's still an unknown situation for the club and the player.

Barça always wanted to announce a new contract on June 24, the day Messi turned 34, or June 29, when president Joan Laporta turned 59.

However, the complexity of the new deal has delayed any announcement.

Sources have told SPORT that there is no plan to make an announcement, although they can't rule out that a final agreement is imminent.

Barça, in any case, are pressing for thr sage to come to an end and for an announcement, so eagerly anticipated by the supporters, to come soon.

Messi's lawyers are checking the final details of the contract. However, he could play on Saturday in the Copa America quarterfinal against Ecuador as a free agent, with the risk of injury.

The last Messi deal was announced on July 5 2017 and signed on November 25 of the same year. That extended his stay until June 30 2021 with a 700 million euros release clause.

Since Messi's first professional deal with Barcelona (2005) until the last, which will be in 2021, 16 years have passed with the first team.