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Barcelona President Reassuring Supporters Over Lionel Messi Contract

Barcelona President Josep María Bartomeu said that he will "personally deal with Lionel Messi's contract renewal after a week that saw more concerns raised about the Argentine's future at the club," according to Samuel Marsden of ESPN.com. Barça CEO Óscar Grau suggested the club would have to use "common sense" when negotiating the finances of the contract in comments which "some interpreted as a move to get Messi to lower his wage demands." Pere Gratacós was then removed from his director role at the club on Friday after he said that Messi "would not be as good without [Andres] Iniesta, Neymar and [Gerard] Pique." Bartomeu "reassured the club's supporters that negotiations remain on track and that both parties are keen to reach an agreement" as soon as possible. He said, "There are no nerves at all. I want to reassure everyone [about that]. I will handle the talks in person to ensure Messi stays here. Everything will be done with discretion. He's the best player in the world, we want him to stay here and we're working on that. We're talking with his people, we want him to stay here and he wants to stay." Bartomeu added that he "felt Grau's comments had been misinterpreted," but he admitted that Gratacós "erred when talking about Messi after Friday's Copa del Rey draw in Madrid." Bartomeu: "After talking to him he realized that what he said wasn't right and he won't represent the club [as a director] anymore." Messi's contract expires in '18 (ESPN.com, 1/14).

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