Lionel Messi's Barcelona contract talks going 'very well', according to club's technical secretary
Tuesday 24 January 2017 18:33, UK
Lionel Messi's contract talks with Barcelona are progressing "very well", according to the club's technical secretary.
Messi's current contract runs out in 2018, having last signed an extension in the summer of 2014.
Barca president Josep Bartomeu said recently the club will do "whatever it takes" to keep hold of Messi, and technical secretary Robert Fernandez insists they are not concerned about the Argentine's deal.
"Leo's renovation is going very well, very well," Fernandez told RAC1. "I'm very relaxed, as I was before with [Javier] Mascherano, [Sergio] Busquets, [Luis] Suarez or Neymar.
"And I am now with Messi, as I am with Andres Iniesta or [Marc-Andre] Ter Stegen. We're working and I'm convinced that they'll continue with Barca.
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"It doesn't matter much who will be the first to renew. There will be people who want to poison the situation, but we've been working on this issue for a long time."
Messi, 29, has scored 481 goals in 557 games for La Liga champions Barcelona but Fernandez believes he is getting even better.
"Leo has got to the stage where he seems he is better now than he was two, three, four or five years ago," Fernandez added. "That is the feeling he gives us, that he gets better all the time and plays as he wants.
"There is no doubt that Leo is the best player in the world. That is the reality."
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