Messi set to renew Barcelona contract until 2021

Barcelona has conducted its most important piece of business this summer, and probably of many more transfer windows after that.

The Blaugrana's outrageous orchestrator, Lionel Messi, will sign a contract renewal with the club in "the coming weeks," Barcelona announced on Wednesday. The fresh terms will extend the Argentinian's agreement in Catalonia until June 30, 2021.

Messi's pay packet is set to bloat to an astronomical £500,000 a week, The Independent's Ed Malyon reports. To pluck Messi from the Camp Nou, Moises Llorens of AS understands it will cost a rival around €300 million to meet his new release clause.

Should he stay for the duration of the contract, it will extend Messi's association with Barcelona to 21 years after he joined from Newell's Old Boys at age 13. In that time he collected a plethora of silverware, including eight La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues. On a personal level, no one in football history has matched his tally of five Ballon d'Or prizes.

Messi's goal record - he's netted 507 times in 583 outings - eclipses any individual feat that has come before him at Barcelona. He now has the luxury of four years to add to his unrivalled legacy at the Spanish behemoth.

Barca detailed the records Messi could have on his radar in the coming years, which include:

• He's two goals short of hitting 100 goals past non-Spanish teams.
• He's nearly a centurion in Champions League football, with 94 goals in 115 matches. His rival Cristiano Ronaldo tops the pile with 105 strikes.
• He can win more club titles than anybody else. Messi has 30, but Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs leads with 36.
• Two more European titles will draw Messi level with record-holders Paolo Maldini, Arie Haan, and Dani Alves - all of whom have nine.
• The all-time leading scorer with a single club is Gerd Muller (Bayern Munich) with 525. Messi has 507.
• Messi and Ronaldo have four Golden Shoes apiece. Long may that battle continue.

Messi's paperwork wards off any potential interest from Manchester City, which is overseen by his old boss Pep Guardiola, and brushes away any further concerns that he'll seek an alternative challenge after it was widely reported he rejected an initial offer in May.

Messi is currently on his honeymoon with his childhood sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo, and his new contract will be waiting for him upon his return for pre-season training.