Barcelona’s ambitious proposal to persuade Lionel Messi to stay during head-to-head talks

Barcelona are reportedly planning to offer Lionel Messi a new two-year deal this week in an ambitious bid to keep the best player in the world.

Jorge Messi will meet with Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu on Wednesday to discuss the clash, as the transfer dispute that has taken over football threatens to culminate in a legal dispute.

The Catalan club wants Messi’s suitors to pay the Argentinian superstar’s astronomical £ 625 million buyout clause, after he told bosses he wants to leave the Camp Nou.

A clause that gave Messi the right to leave free of charge expired on June 10, but he has argued that it should still be active after the football season was extended due to the coronavirus crisis.

And according to ESPN, Messi’s father will ask Bartomeu to respect that clause, despite the fact that La Liga has supported Barcelona’s position.

If the president refuses, the two sides could face a legal battle over the player’s £ 625 million release clause.

But instead of allowing that to happen, Bartomeu is expected to try to evade the interest of Europe’s best clubs by offering Messi a great new deal.

That will mean a significant outlay, as Forbes last year ranked the six-time Ballon d’Or winner as the world’s highest paid athlete with salaries of around £ 26 million per year.

He will also have to convince Messi Snr that Barça can still compete for the biggest prizes in club football, as the 33-year-old seeks more titles in the final stages of his career.

Bartomeu will meet Messi Snr knowing that the big shots in European football are lining up to attack Messi.

Manchester City are at the forefront of that queue as they try to arrange a tantalizing meeting between the forward and his former Barca mentor Pep Guardiola.

But also hopeful of landing the four-time Champions League winner are Paris-Saint Germain, Inter Milan and Juventus, who could unite Messi with Cristiano Ronaldo in a devastating attack that would instill fear in defenses across Europe.

Messi turned down Monday afternoon’s training session with new boss Ronald Koeman after missing Barcelona’s coronavirus tests on Sunday.

But the Catalan giants know that if they punish their star man they could push the line past the point of no return.

Messi is deepening his position that he no longer needs to train at a club where he no longer has a contract.

Without a coronavirus test, you won’t be able to train with your teammates anyway, which means you can’t prepare with them for the new season.

Should Lionel Messi leave Barcelona or give Ronald Koeman’s regime a chance? Give your opinion here

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Meanwhile, Messi’s cousin Maximiliano Biancucchi Cuccittini said Guardiola’s City would be “a good fit” for the player.

“Of all the teams that have been suggested, I feel like Manchester City would be a good fit,” he said. “Another would be PSG, but we will have to wait, and wherever he goes he will be happy and at peace.”