Financial Fair Play and so much more: All that's missing in Messi's contract talks

A lot of things in the way

Joan Laporta and Lionel Messi after the Argentine renewed his contract at Barcelona back in 2009FCB

Barcelona are working around the clock to find an agreement with Lionel Messi to renew the contract that expired on June 30, leaving him, technically speaking, without a club.

The Catalans have problems, though, and Financial Fair Play has become an obstacle that is proving tough to overcome in recent days, but that's not the only issue.

Barcelona have to cut their salary expenses in order to accommodate Messi, even with him taking a significant reduction in terms of pay.

Defining the finances and taxes

Messi wants the tax matters to be perfectly clear and defined, as there are some ongoing changes that would affect Messi. A lot of payments have been delayed of late, and if he renews with Barcelona he'll likely head to the USA in two years' time.

That will likely present problems as to where his tax should be paid when he collects any deferred money that he is to earn in Spain. This is likely to happen with any other player who moves abroad.

Payment terms

It's obvious that Barcelona are short of cash and this is why they're talking to players in an attempt to cut their salary expenses. Within those talks they have to decide how they are going to make the payments, and as of yet there haven't been any concrete decisions.

Guarantees

Messi wants to have guarantees that he will receive the money that is agreed when he signs, even in the event of a new wave of the COVID-19 pandemic that would lead to delay with regard to full stadiums and other issues. Nothing can be ruled out, and Messi wants to know where he stands.

Deferred payments

Again, the issue of money owed to Messi is a problem. His advisors want to see what happens with his pending payments and if they're added to the new contract. There's a lot of money that hasn't been paid to him.

Although it's gone into the background of late, Messi is desperate to see Barcelona be competitive again and to aim for big trophies. The signings of Sergio Aguero, Eric Garcia and Memphis Depay have come as good news for the No.10.

For now, though, nothing is certain and there are still a lot of things left to iron out before anything is signed.