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Joan Laporta "convinced" Lionel Messi will stay at Barcelona

Laporta
© Reuters
Barcelona president Joan Laporta is "convinced" that Lionel Messi will eventually pen a contract extension at the club following their Copa del Rey success.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta is "convinced" that Lionel Messi will remain at the club for the 2021-22 season.

The 33-year-old scored twice in Barca's 4-0 Copa del Rey final win over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday evening - his seventh Spanish Cup crown with the Blaugrana.

Recent developments in Messi's long-running transfer saga have suggested that the six-time Ballon d'Or winner is leaning towards signing a new contract after trying but failing to force a move away last summer, but Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain continue to be linked with a summer move for the attacker.

However, Laporta is confident that Messi will eventually put pen to paper on a new deal, telling Telecinco: "Leo is the best player in the world. He's very attached to this club.

"I'm convinced that he wants to stay and we'll do everything in our power so that he stays. Today, we saw that he's surrounded by a great team. They played some very good football."

Messi's brace in the Copa del Rey final took him up to 31 goals for the season in all competitions, and he now boasts a total of 665 strikes in 771 matches for the Blaugrana.

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Lionel Messi in action for Barcelona on March 15, 2021
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