Lionel Messi’s Barcelona exit clause ‘expires’ as club chiefs get to work

Lionel Messi will be remaining at Barcelona for at least another season after his exit clause ‘expired’.

The Barcelona superstar last signed a contract with the club in 2017 - agreeing deal that runs until the end of the 2020-21 campaign.

However, a clause in the contract means Messi could decide to leave for nothing in the summer of 2020 as long as he communicated his decision to Barca before June.

According to ESPN, the actual deadline was May 30 so that has now passed and Messi will continue at the Nou Camp next season.

Messi’s camp said "we don't speak about contractual issues,” when approached for comment by the publication.

At 32 years of age, the Argentine is entering the last few seasons of his career.

Barca chiefs are now hoping to tie him down to one more long-term deal to ensure he sees out his playing days with them.

Messi has previously suggested he would like to end his career with the Catalan club but could also be tempted by a switch to his boyhood team Newell's Old Boys in his native Rosario.

"I love Barcelona, but I really do miss Rosario," he said in February.

"This is my home -- I've been here longer than Argentina. I love Barcelona, where I live and I really enjoy what I do for a living."

In December, after scooping his record-breaking sixth Ballon d’Or he said: “I’m aware of how old I am.

"I hope, God willing, that I keep playing for many more years.

"I'm now 32, though, and will be 33 at the end of the season, so, as I said, everything depends on how I feel physically.

"Right now I feel better than ever on a physical and a personal level, and I hope I can go on for a lot longer."