New deal for Messi on the table

BARCELONA. — Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu says he is determined to ensure Lionel Messi remains a “one-club man” forever and is ready to offer him a new contract.

Messi, who joined Barcelona as a 13-yearold, signed a new four-year contract at the Nou Camp in November 2017 but Bartomeu says the club are already looking to extend that deal.

The 31-year-old has been in sensational form this season, scoring 42 goals in 39 games, and Bartomeu wants Messi to be forever linked with Barcelona, even after he hangs up his boots.

“We would like to renew his contract, that’s the idea. He is young - you can see that - and he still has two years on his deal,” he told ESPN.

“He’s always improving, always innovating. I believe he still has many years Lionel Messi in front of him and in the coming months we will sit down with him so that he has many more years at Barcelona.

“Messi is a one-club man. It’s more than what he does on the pitch - his relationship with Barca will last forever. I use the example of Pele, who was always at Santos. We want Messi to always be at Barca, whether that’s playing or linked to the club.

“We want him to have a really long career so we can keep on enjoying him. Lionel’s managed to break down borders. Everyone admires him and he’s applauded at other stadiums by rival fans.”

Messi has won nine La Liga titles, four Champions Leagues and six Copa del Rey crowns, with Barcelona eight points clear in the league and in another domestic cup final already this season. They are also set to face Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. — Sky Sports it is a hurdles we always have to jump — one which the Reserve bank of Zimbabwe has sometimes aided us when we needed it’’.

Meanwhile the much awaited Super 6 league gets underway this afternoon, starting a 12-week marathon that will culminate in the cup final on August 24.

The league will run concurrently with the Harare Province League which features men’s Division One and Two leagues as well as the Women’s League — both divisions are the lower tier promotional competitions comprising of nine teams in each.

At least 35 matches will take place during the 12 weeks of the Super 6 action with two breaks slotted in between to allow for the Sables’ participation in the SuperSport Challenge from May 4 to June 16 and in the Rugby Africa Gold Cup from July 6- 13.

There is no doubting that the biggest game of the opening weekend of Super 6 action pits Old Georgians Dragons against bitter rivals Old Hararians in Groombridge.

In other matches today Old Miltonians face Matabeleland Warriors at Hartsfield while Harare Sports Club host Mutare Sports Club in the clash of the lions at The Machinery Exchange Stadium.