Lionel Messi and Barcelona have reached an agreement for the forward to sign a new five-year deal with the Catalan club, sources have confirmed to ESPN. Sources added Messi has accepted a significant wage reduction to prolong his stay.
Messi was a free agent after his contract at Barca expired and he had courted interest from Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City since first revealing a desire to end his 20-year relationship with Barca last summer. The 34-year-old's previous contract was worth over €500 million ($594m) over four years and that expired at the stroke of midnight on June 30.