Abidal hopes Messi will renew contract with Barcelona
Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi (L) walks on the pitch during the Spanish Copa del Rey (King’s Cup) quarter-final football match Athletic Club Bilbao against FC Barcelona at the San Mames stadium in Bilbao on February 06, 2020. (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA / AFP)
Lionel Messi wants to stay at Barcelona, but it is “never easy” to renew his contract, according to the club’s technical secretary Eric Abidal.
Messi’s future has been thrown into doubt following a turbulent week at Camp Nou, during which he criticised Abidal in a social media post for his comments on the squad’s efforts under former coach Ernesto Valverde.
The Barca captain called on Abidal to name names and accused him of “dirtying” the squad by suggesting certain stars downed tools during Valverde’s final weeks in charge.
With Messi able to have his contract cancelled at the end of the season and leave for free, there have been suggestions he could seek a new challenge for 2020-21, although Pep Guardiola insisted on Friday he did not want Manchester City to sign the Argentina star.
Abidal seems hopeful of extending Messi’s contract, which will expire in June 2021, but he concedes it is difficult to negotiate terms with a player considered the greatest in the world.
“It’s a question for him,” he told Mundo Deportivo when asked about Messi’s contract. “Hopefully, he continues.
“Leo said Barca is everything for him, that he wants to continue here and, from there, there are conditions.
We’re talking about the best player in the world and to have a renewal of such a player is never easy.”
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