Barcelona may be unable to renew star forward Lionel Messi's contract as they cannot improve upon his current wages, which may leave the player susceptible to the lure of rich clubs with mega wages.
First-team stars Neymar, Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano have all recently signed new terms with the Catalan giants, and the club are eager to offer Messi a new deal, with the Argentina international's current contract set to expire in 18 months.
According toAS, contract negotiations have become more difficult due to strict Financial Fair Play rules imposed due to their transfer spending in recent years.
The 29-year-old is currently earning an incredible £500k-a-week, and unsurprisingly Barcelona cannot afford to improve upon his wages.
The La Liga champions are instead looking into other areas to help convince Messi to sign a new deal, and president Josep Maria Bartomeu has stated recently Barcelona need to try andimprove the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's current situation in Spain.
We cannot renew at whatever price," Bartomeu explained.
We need to improve the conditions of the player, while thinking about sustainability.
We are a little above the 65 per cent maximum which is advised, but the reality is we cannot allow it."
Despite Barcelona's stature as one of the biggest clubs in the world, Bartomeu has claimed the club are limited in the wages they can pay their biggest star, and that if the club spent too much on player contracts then the development of the club would be affected negatively.
We do not have unlimited resources and this is a worrying factory," Bartomeu continued.
If the entire salary is very high, it is stagnating the growth of the entire club.�