Josep Maria Bartomeu: 'Lionel Messi contract renewal signed by player's father'

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has claimed that Lionel Messi's father has signed a contract renewal on behalf of the Argentina forward.

The Blaugrana announced in July that Messi had agreed a four-year extension to his deal which would have been "signed in the coming weeks, when Messi returns to the team for pre-season training".

Since then, however, there has been no official confirmation on Messi's contract renewal, with rumours beginning to circulate about whether the 30-year-old still sees his future at Camp Nou.

On Friday, Bartomeu told 8TV: "Leo's commitment to Barca is total. His father has signed the renewal and, therefore, the only thing left to do is to take the photograph."

Messi's club teammate Andres Iniesta also sees his contract run out at the end of the current season and has yet to put pen to paper on a new deal.