Barcelona have announced Lionel Messi has put pen to paper on a new four-year deal running until 2021.
Messi’s previous deal was due to expire at the end of the current campaign and there were growing doubts as to whether the Argentina international would extend his stay at the Camp Nou.
The 30-year-old, who picked up the Golden Shoe for the fourth time in his career earlier this week, verbally agreed terms to his new contract in the summer but Barcelona have only today announced he has signed on the dotted line.
After losing Neymar over the summer, the departure of Messi at the end of the season would have been a disaster for the club and Barcelona have included a €700m (£626.4m) release clause in his new contract.
Messi has established himself as one of the greatest players of all-time since making his debut as a 17-year-old back in 2004. Since then, he has scored a staggering 523 goals in 602 games for Barcelona.
