SUPERSTAR Argentine footballer, Lionel Andres Messi Cuccittini has kept his fans in the dark on his next line of action as end of his current contract is approaching.
According to reports, Messi has called off contract renewal talks with Barcelona which is indicative of his plan to abandon the club as soon as his contract expires at the end of next session.
Although, there are copious insinuations from several quarters, the GBP multimillionaire has remained mute.
Messi currently earns £500,000-a-week – equating to £26m-a-year – and will therefore take home at least £52m over the next two seasons.
A source had alleged that Messi was angered allusions pointing at him for being responsible for the problems the club has been undergoing.
However, the club’s vice president, has claimed Messi could finish his career back where it all started by joining Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina.
Messi joined the Rosarlo Club when he was just six years old and scored more than 500 goals for their youth teams before being snapped up ny Barcelona at age 14.
He has since gone on to become the Spanish giants’ greatest ever player and this week scored his 700th goal for them in a draw with Atletico Madrid.
Messi, now 33, has just under a year left on his 500 Pounds a week contract at the Nou Camp and speculation about his future remains rife.
He is expected to extend his stay at Barca despite issues with his boss, Quique Setien and the club’s board, although he is yet to confirm when he will leave Spain.
Cristian D’Amico, vice-president of Newell’s Old Boys, hopes that when that day comes, Messi opts for a return to his boyhood club instead of retirement.
Talking about a sensational return for Messi while citing Diego Maradona’s brief spell at the club in the 1990s, D’Amico told TNT sports;
“I don’t know if it’s impossible.
It’s a decision exclusively made by him and his family. We have to have the best possible context to help make a decision.
“When Maradona came to Newell’s, nobody thought that he would come either. I hope to do something similar with Leo”.
“Obviously, that’s not to be selling smoke. It’s a difficult topic. What Newell’s fan would not dream to see the best player in the world with jersey of their team on! Time might allow such things, you have to be calm”, D’Amico said.
Messi, an Argentine-born football (soccer) player was named Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) world player of the year five times (2009–12 and 2015). Naturally left-footed, quick, and precise in control of the ball, Messi is known as a keen pass distributor and can readily thread his way through packed defenses.