Catalan king: Lionel Messi signing deal this week to stay until 2018 at Barcelona

Showing a bewildering lack of curiosity about life elsewhere than the Camp Nou, little Lionel Messi will formally sign his new Barcelona contract this week.

The Catalan giants announced in December that the Argentina superstar, who has been with the club since 2000, was to extend his stay by a further two years.

The deal will keep him at the club until June 30, 2018, when he will have just celebrated his 31st birthday.

The Press Association report: Messi is currently with the Argentina squad ahead of tomorrow's friendly in Sweden but will sign at the club offices on his return a day later.

He becomes the third big-name Barca player to commit his future to the club, following in the footsteps of Carles Puyol and Xavi.

Family club: Lionel Messi (centre) with Xavi Hernandez (L) and Carles Puyol  all three Catalan heroes will have signed new deals by the end of the week
Family club: Lionel Messi (centre) with Xavi Hernandez (L) and Carles Puyol – all three Catalan heroes will have signed new deals by the end of the week

 

Messi won his fourth straight FIFA World Player of the Year award in January following a remarkable 2012 in which he scored 91 goals - smashing the world record of 85 in a calendar year set by Bayern Munich and West Germany striker Gerd Muller in 1972.

His goal in Sunday's 1-1 draw at Valencia was a league-record 12th consecutive game in which he found the net.

Overall, he has scored 203 La Liga goals for Barca in 236 games.

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