Lionel Messi has NOT signed Barcelona new deal, confirms vice-president Jordi Mestre… who also claimed Neymar was ‘200 per cent’ certain to stay
Catalan chief made famous comment in U.S. and fans will find it difficult to feel reassured after Brazilian moved to PSG
BARCELONA vice-president Jordi Mestre has incredibly revealed Lionel Messi has NOT signed a new contract.
Furthermore, he tried to appease supporters by insisting the five-time Ballon d’Or-winner would sign — just as he had with Neymar during the club's pre-season tour.
The Nou Camp giants announced in July that Messi had signed his new deal.
However, Mestre admitted: “Everything has been spoken about and agreed — all that’s missing is the date for the official signature.
“Everything is ready, we are carrying on as normal.
“We just need to be patient.”
In the U.S., Mestre claimed that Neymar would “200 per cent be staying” — only for the Brazilian to make a world-record move to Paris Saint-Germain.
The famous words have come back to haunt him, but he insists he does not regret the comment.
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Neymar moved for £198million (€222m), and Mestre joked that was merely not taking into account the full amount.
He added: “At the time, I missed out the 22 — and was just left with 200.
“In terms of Messi, we have been working for a long time, it looks good and it would surprise me if we didn’t get it over the line.”
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