Argentine superstar Lionel Messi has signed a new contract with Barcelona, the club announced on Monday.
While Barcelona did not officially announce details of the new contract, unconfirmed reports say that Lionel Messi will be paid 20 million euros per season, and that his new contract will keep him with Barcelona through the 2018 season.
Barcelona finished in second this season in the La Liga Primera Division behind Atletico Madrid, and Lionel Messi scored 28 goals in the 31 league contests in which he appeared. But Barcelona did not win any major championships this season, and their lack of trophies was the reason that coach Gerardo Martino had to quit after only being in charge for one year.
There is no doubt why Barcelona gave Lionel Messi a new contract, because since he has been on the squad they have been the winners of the following championships:
La Liga (six times)
Champions League (three times)
Copa del Rey (two times)
Club World Cup (two times)
European Super Cup (two times)
Lionel Messi made a public statement apologizing to the Barcelona fans and promising that the team would play better next season. This season was the first time in six years that Barcelona did not win any major championships.
After defeating Cartegena, Getafe, Levante and Real Sociedad on their way to the Copa del Rey final match, Barcelona was defeated by Atletico Madrid 2-1 in the final match in Mestalla.
Over the course of his career, Lionel Messi has scored 354 goals in 425 official matches for Barcelona, and that makes him the leading scorer in Barcelona club history.
Don Ellis started covering sports professionally when he was 15. He attended Ball State University, and some of his past credits include InsideHoops (columnist) and ESPN Florida (The Florida Sports Reporters, SportsCenter anchor) . In addition to running Bullsville.net and writing for The Sports Bank and ChicagoNow (Bullsville), he is also a KHSAA baseball umpire. He’s a 3rd-generation Cubs fan, a Bulls fan since the days of Van Lier and Sloan, and a life-long New England Patriots fan. Follow Don on Twitter @Bullsville.