On June 30, 2021, Messi's contract with Barcelona officially expired. However, the two sides have not yet agreed on a new contract, Messi is currently in the free agency state. Nevertheless, in view of the current situation, Messi and Barcelona contract renewal seems to be only a matter of time, the two sides in the contract details are still divergent. Theoretically, Messi has returned to free agency, and La Liga's official website has removed his information accordingly.
In the Barcelona squad published on the official La Liga website, there are currently only four strikers; Braithwaite, Dembele, Fathi and Trincom. Griezmann is positioned as an attacking midfielder and is therefore not included in the list of strikers. Lionel Messi is also not in the lineup as he is no longer a Barcelona player and is currently in a temporary state of unemployment.
However, La Liga officials don't seem to agree with Messi's free agency status. In the official Barcelona first team squad, there are six strikers, including Braithwaite, Dembele, Trincom, Fathi, Griezmann and Messi. Barcelona's official website sees Griezmann as a striker and Messi as a member of the team. After all, it's only a matter of time before Messi renews his contract with Barcelona, so naturally the official website won't leave him out.
Barcelona and Lionel Messi have agreed on a personal deal, but it still needs to pass the official La Liga financial fairness review. Laporta is working towards this and is keen to complete a contract extension with Messi as soon as possible.
