Bad news for Pep Guardiola as Lionel Messi set to sign new contract with Barcelona

Reports, last week, suggested that Lionel Messi might be looking at options away from Barcelona after news broke out that  Manchester City were willing to spend £100 million on the Argentine star.

But now, Barcelona first team secretary Robert Fernandez has stated that Messi's contract renewal talks are going very well.

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Along with Messi, Fernandez is also confident that club captain Andres Iniesta and goalkeeper Marc Andre Ter Stegen will follow in the footsteps of Neymar, Suarez, Busquets and Mascherano and sign a new contract with the club soon.

"Leo's renovation is going very well, very well. I'm very relaxed, as I was before with Mascherano, Busquets, Suarez or Neymar. And I am now with Messi, as I am with Iniesta or Ter Stegen. We're working and I'm convinced that they'll continue with Barca. It doesn't matter much who will be the first to renew. There will be people who want to poison the situation, but we've been working on this issue for a long time" Goal.com quoted Fernandez as saying.

Robert Fernandez has also said that Messi is playing the best football of his life at the moment and said that despite being close to the likes of Maradona, Cruyff and Di Stafano, he feels Messi is different.

"Leo has reached a point where it seems like he plays better than three or five years ago. He gets better all the time. He can pull a rabbit from the hat at any moment and in any situation on the pitch.

"If we did a survey among the fans, we'd ask if Messi is better now or before. Leo is the best player in the world. There is no doubt. I've been close to [Diego] Maradona, [Johan] Cruyff, [Alfredo] Di Stefano... but Leo is different. He's capable of doing well for many years" he was quoted as saying.

It's reported that Barcelona are willing to offer Lionel Messi a contract worth €40 million a year to persuade him to stay with the club which will also make him the highest paid footballer in the world surpassing Carlos Tevez who earns €37 million at Shanghai Shenhua.