Barcelona plan to make Lionel Messi the world’s highest-paid player ahead of this summer’s World Cup in Brazil.
Barcelona President Josep Maria Bartomeu made this known just two days after Messi's hat-trick defeated Real Madrid and put Barca back in the title race.
'We all want Messi to be the best-paid player in the world and that is what we are working on,' said Bartomeu. 'Right now we are concentrating on the competitions we are in but it will happen soon.
'Nobody here wants to sell Messi. You cannot sell Leo. He arrived here when he was 13 and he is one of ours.'
The deal, expected to be discussed before the April 16 Spanish Cup final, will add another year to the player’s commitment taking him to 2019 and will take him beyond Cristiano Ronaldo’s estimated €21million (£17.5m) net deal.
