Argentine legend Lionel Messi has finally agreed to sign a new five-year deal with Barcelona, according to media reports in Spain.
The new deal will also have a mammoth £350MILLION release clause that will make it difficult for other clubs to lure him away.
The club bosses want the Argentine superstar to commit his long-term future to the club and sources claim that they also want him to retire at Barcelona.
Earlier, the negotiations over a new deal had stalled and Messi was heavily linked with a move to Premier League clubs Chelsea and Manchester City.
His current contract at Barcelona expires in 2018 and the club bosses were worried that the Argentine superstar would have left on free transfer if an agreement could not be reached.
Messi’s father has flown to Barcelona in order to held talks with Barca bosses, who are desperate to tie down their superstar.
And, according to Marca, both the parties have agreed in principle over a new contract.
Sources reveal that Messi’s new wage packet will vary from year to year depending on the various clauses in his new contract.
But it is believed that the new contract will make Messi the world’s highest paid player – taking home a wage packet of £800k-a-week.
Messi displayed incredible form last term – with 54 goals to his name in 52 games for Barcelona as they finished second in La Liga and won the Copa del Rey.
The new contract will hand a huge boost to new boss Ernesto Valverde, who now will give his best to bring the title back from arch rivals Real Madrid next season.