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The young star of Argentina Lionel Messi extended his contract with the Spanish champion team for the second time in three months on Friday. The newly signed contract will be valid not until 2010, but until 2014.
"Barcelona" also confirmed that under the new contract, the 18-year-old goalkeeper will be considered a main squad player, not a reserve, and will therefore receive a higher salary.
The buyout clause remained unchanged in the new contract - 150 million euros. This is the amount that a club must pay if they want to negotiate with the player without the consent of "Barcelona."
"I am very happy," said L. Messi. "I always wanted to stay in Barcelona, so there were no problems in the negotiations for the new contract."
L. Messi, who made an unsuccessful debut last month (appearing on the field for only 90 seconds after a substitution, receiving a red card) in the Argentine national team, has not yet played in the Spanish league matches this season, as the Spanish Football Federation has not precisely determined his status. "Barcelona" hopes that he will be considered an assimilated player since the Argentine has been playing in the youth teams of "Barcelona" for many years. L. Messi joined the youth academy of the Catalan superclub at the age of 13.
According to the rules of the Spanish Football Federation, teams can have only three non-European Union citizens, and "Barcelona" currently has Brazilian Ronaldinho, Cameroonian Samuel Eto'o, and Mexican Rafael Marquez holding these spots.
Despite this, L. Messi can play in the UEFA Champions League and in the first matches with Bremen's "Werder" club he performed excellently - after being substituted, he seamlessly integrated into the team's game and earned a penalty kick, which was converted by Ronaldinho to lead the team to a 2-0 victory.
In the World Youth Championship in the Netherlands in June, L. Messi was the most productive player in the Argentine national team.
