[ad_1]
Lionel Messi has a clear head and rested legs, and that can only be bad news for the other two teams in the race for the Spanish title.
With his ally and former president Joan Laporta preparing for his first summer back in charge, Messi is as relaxed about his future as at any time since signing his last contract in 2017.
If negotiations go well between Laporta and Messi’s father Jorge in the final weeks of the season, he will sign a new contract for at least two more seasons before developing his career in the United States after trying one more chance to win one. World Cup in Qatar. in 2022.
If the president change has fixed him mentally, he has also had the physical urge of a two-week layoff before the last 10 league games of the season.
Diario AS calculated that Messi had played 92 percent of the minutes so far this season, having been retired only once and only twice as a starter on the bench.
Ronald Koeman may have started the season with a plan to manage Messi’s minutes, but the Argentine’s own desire to play, his fitness level, and the team’s need for him to be in the starting eleven have meant that he has been very similar to any other season. been irreplaceable and irreplaceable.
But with international games canceled for South American teams, Messi has been able to relax while other players have left to play for his country.
He is revitalized and ready to add to the incredible 19 goals he has scored in 19 games so far this year.
When the season ends, or at least reaches its climax, Messi is expected to put pen to paper on a new contract, the last one in Barcelona. First, however, their priority remains the last 11 games of the season (including the Spanish Cup final).
Laporta, with all the sensitivity to the way of thinking of footballers that his predecessors have lacked, will know how to stay out of applying any pressure to force the announcement of a decision ahead of time.
Wednesday morning, in the spirit of ‘he will definitely stay now!’ -The phrase that was repeated in Spain was that ‘Manchester City will not try to sign Lionel Messi again this summer’.
It’s a bit misleading because City didn’t really try to sign Messi last summer. The man himself offered them the possibility of nothing less than Messi contacting Pep Guardiola.
And they respectfully stood aside as Messi confronted then-president Josep Bartomeu over whether his contract included a clause allowing him to leave for free in his senior year.
Had he won that particular battle with the club, City would have negotiated with him as a free agent. It was the only club he wanted to sign for if he left Barcelona last summer.
But they never intervened in his battle with Barca and it is no wonder that even though Messi is now officially free to speak to other clubs, they are not making moves, in part because they anticipate Messi will stick around.
What City were planning last summer if they ended up getting Messi for free was a lengthy deal that would have helped them spread the payouts over time and included a period in which he would become the club’s ambassador.
Barcelona are now preparing a similar deal that avoids its own salary cap imposed by LaLiga by committing to keep him as an employee of the club in the future.
Messi, as things stand, is expected to be happy to sign that deal. But before that he wants to get a league and cup double.
It’s Real Madrid absent on April 11, then it’s the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao on April 17, and then the current leader, Atlético de Madrid, will visit the Camp Nou on May 9.
Three endings to enjoy: Messi is rested, relaxed about his future, and ready to get to work.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
[ad_2]
