What is happening with Lionel Messi and Barcelona?

Lionel Messi's Barcelona contract is due to expire on June 30th and yet, as that day moves closer, there's no news on whether he will sign an extension.

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So, what's going on?

Currently, Messi is in Brazil as part of Argentina's Copa America squad and if there are no developments, he will be a free agent on July 1st.

Barcelona's president Joan Laporta has been clear that he wants Messi to stay but has acknowledged that the club's financial woes mean that they cannot afford to keep paying his current wages. Laporta gets on very well with Messi and with his agent-father Jorge. This is to contrast with the awful relationship that both Messi had with Laporta's predecessor Josep Maria Bartomeu whose broken promises led to the player trying to force an exit from the club 12 months ago.

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But the big issue is over what Barcelona can afford to offer. Given the club's huge debts, said to be an excess of €1bn, the €100 million including taxes and bonuses each year that Messi earns is no longer feasible and Laporta has repeatedly said that Messi would be offered a proposal "within the club's possibilities".

Several sources have said that this would actually mean a contract that pays Messi significantly less over the next few years but makes up for this by promising earnings from the club long after his retirement as a player. They can also offer more symbolic incentives- a speaker at Sunday's AGM said that the idea of erecting a statue of Messi outside the Nou Camp was under consideration by the board.

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But if he doesn't stay in Barcelona, then where will he go?

That's not clear, either. Last summer, Messi's options had seemed to be either Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, with the two Gulf state-backed club's the only ones really able to match his demands. Twelve months on, there seems little chance of City coming back into the picture particularly with the news that they're bidding for Tottenham's Harry Kane. Pep Guardiola has also stated very clearly that he hopes Messi finishes his career at Camp Nou so that rules a move to England out.

PSG could be marginally more likely though. "Messi is at the end of his contract and all clubs have the right to talk to him and recruit him for next season," PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi told L'Equipe in early June.

This won't just be about money. Messi is not just concerned with the size of his annual salary but also Barcelona's ability to compete Laporta has made building a better, more balanced squad a key part of his bid to persuade Messi to put pen to paper and- in addition to Sergio Aguero- the signing of the exciting Memphis Depay will also be encouraging. The question of where this money is coming from though and how another Messi contract might be funded is an interesting one. In theory, squad players like Martin Braithwaite, Coutinho, Samuel Umtiti, Clement Lenglet, Junior Firpo, and Pjanic could be moved out but this will mean finding new clubs willing to cover their current substantial wages. Long-serving players like Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, and Sergi Roberto have already been asked to take voluntary pay cuts on their salaries.

A big factor also is La Liga's strict financial fair play rules. It still remains possible that Lionel Messi's contract renewal could be announced before his current deal ends on June 30. Laporta keeps repeating that he is doing everything within his means to persuade the club's greatest ever player to stay. But however, the clock is ticking and time is running out.

Thanks for reading.