Lionel Messi will sign a new deal at Barcelona this season according to the club's sporting director Robert Fernandez.
In an exclusive interview with SPORT, Fernandez spoke about the issues surrounding Messi's contract, but remains confident that an agreement will be reached soon, citing Neymar, Rafinha and Javier Mascherano as examples of Barca's negotiating ability.
"The president [Josep Maria Bartomeu] has already said. This year there are a number of situations we need to solve. As was the case with Rafinha, Busquets, Neymar and Mascherano, people said we wouldn't reach an agreement, but in the end there were no problems," he said.
"I'm delighted that he's (Messi) the No.1 in the world and that he's with us. We will reach an agreement. I'm totally convinced.
"There's no rush. This season we will reach an agreement. Like we did with Rafinha, Mascherano, Busi and Neymar," he added.
When quizzed about Barcelona's transfer activity this season and if there would be any further additions, Fernandez stated that he was happy with their business.
" I say that the team, to compete in three competitions, needed more presence. We have considered that a number of positions needed things doing and we've done those things so that we don't go into the final part of the season short.
"If you don't need anything, why are you going to buy? We don't need 'big' signings because the fans are already excited. If we don't lack anything, we don't need to [buy]. If we have the best players, we have to get the best out of them, keep them happy. And if you need anything, you have to look for it.
" I think we've done good deals. Umtiti in the current market would be worth a lot more. The Premier League ended up paying 40 million euros for Mustafi, for example."
It was a busy transfer window for the Catalan ginats, as they brought in European Championship winner Andre Gomes as well as French internationals Samuel Umtiti and Lucas Digne, while Denis Suarez, Jasper Cillissen and Paco Alcacer also made the move to the Nou Camp.
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