Barcelona under pressure from sponsors to tie down Lionel Messi to new contract - Reports

Barcelona are reportedly under immense pressure to reach an agreement with Lionel Messi at the earliest. According to the latest reports from the IB Times, the club sponsors are less than happy with Messi's contract situation.

It is believed that the Catalan giants could even potentially lose a large chunk of business from their sponsors should they fail to tie down the Argentinian legend to a new contract at the Nou Camp.

The story of Lionel Messi at Barcelona

Lionel Messi has been at Barcelona for two decades now. He arrived as a young boy with a dream from Argentina and exceeded everyone's expectations by becoming one of the best players ever to grace the game of football.

644.From scoring his first professional goal 15 years ago to scoring his 644th and breaking a 46-year record. Year after year, goal after goal Leo Messi continues to re-write history.After all, records are only there to be broken. pic.twitter.com/mb5QU2jPiy

— adidas Football (@adidasfootball) December 23, 2020

The six-time Ballon d'Or winner has a special connection with the club, having played for them for the entirety of his professional career. However, the relationship turned sour last year after he had a fall-out with former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

Bartomeu's tenure at the club ended disastrously for Barcelona. He not only left the club in financial ruins but also destroyed the relationship of the club with several senior players.

The biggest blunder, however, was antagonizing Lionel Messi to the point where he handed in a transfer request in the summer of 2020. Barcelona refused to accept the proposal and Messi, instead taking his club to court, chose to see out the last year of his contract at the Nou Camp.

The contract expired on 30 June this year and Messi has been a free agent since. One relief for Barcelona is that Bartomeu is no longer at the club and has been replaced by Joan Laporta. The 59-year-old came in as president earlier this year and has managed to fix the club's relationship with Messi.

Avui hem viscut una nit de joia! Gràcies als nostres jugadors i tècnics per lluitar sempre pels nostres colors. Gràcies per retornar l’alegria del barcelonisme! Visca el Barça! pic.twitter.com/MA7CHJcHYS

— Joan Laporta Estruch🎗 (@JoanLaportaFCB) April 17, 2021

Can Laporta keep Messi at Barcelona?

It is believed that Laporta has successfully convinced Messi to stay at the Nou Camp. However, keeping Messi at the club has proved to be difficult due to the financial demands of his contract. Talks are still ongoing with the Argentinian captain over a new five-year deal, but nothing has been signed yet.

It is this period of uncertainty over the extension of Messi's contract that is worrying Barcelona's sponsors. Financially speaking, a major chunk of Barcelona's sponsorship money comes due to the fact that they can field the best player in the world, week in, week out.

Hence, the companies are now worried that should Lionel Messi turn down Barcelona's extension offer, they are likely to lose money on these sponsorship deals with the club.

In order to expedite the process, they have now turned the screw on Barcelona and are forcing the club to reach an agreement with Lionel Messi at the earliest. Reports suggest that the consequences of a failed agreement with Messi would see these sponsors withdraw, partially or entirely, from their contracts with Barcelona.