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The leader of the Spanish championship "Barcelona" team announced that the team's leader and the best football player of the last four years, Lionel Messi, has agreed to extend his contract until 2016.
Although there are still more than three years left until the end of the current contract, the Argentine will sign a new one on Thursday, valid until the summer of 2018.
It is reported that L. Messi will earn about 11 million euros per year after taxes. This means that by 2018, the best football player on the planet will earn an additional 55 million euros (almost 200 million litas). In addition, the contract includes a minimum buyout clause of 250 million euros.
L. Messi made his debut in the main team of "Barcelona" in the 2004-2005 season and has since played 350 official matches, scoring 298 goals.
Earlier, the Catalan club extended contracts with key players in the team such as Xavi and Carles Puyol, young forward Cristian Tello, and backup goalkeeper Jose Pinto.
C. Tello's new contract is valid until the summer of 2016, with a buyout clause of 10 million euros. Xavi and C. Puyol's contracts will also be valid until the summer of 2016, while J. Pinto's will be until the summer of 2014.
However, the biggest loss for Barcelona will be their main goalkeeper Victor Valdes, who refused to extend his contract.
