Barcelona trust they can announce Lionel Messi’s renewal after Copa America | OneFootball

The Copa America gets underway this evening when Brazil take on Venezuela; that’s if Venezuela can field a team, of course, having registered 12 positive covid-19 cases yesterday.

Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero’s Argentina get their tournament underway on Monday evening at the same time, when they face Chile. Aguero has just joined Barcelona, but there’s still doubt, according to Mundo Deportivo, as to whether Messi will renew his contract with the club.

Barcelona believe the offer they put to Messi and his father several weeks ago is to his liking, and that it’s probable he’s going to eventually accept it. The idea is for the Argentine to play for Barcelona until the summer of 2023, at which point he’ll head for the United States and MLS; most likely to play for David Beckham’s Inter Miami.

Barcelona would have loved to have confirmed and announced the agreement before the Copa America got underway, but respect that Messi moves at his own pace.

The thought is that Messi won’t make a final decision until after the Copa America is over; he’ll be leading Argentina with the ambition of winning the competition having lost two finals in the past. Paris Saint-Germain are still in the picture, but all of Messi’s energy right now is emulating the departed Diego Maradona and captaining Argentina to a title.