Lionel Messi could sign for a Premier League club for FREE in January after Luis Enrique quit revelation casts more doubt on icon’s future
The Nou Camp legend's contract expires next June and he could sign a pre-contract agreement with English club before then
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LIONEL MESSI could sign for a Premier League club for FREE in January.
The Barcelona icon's future in Spain was cast into further doubt last night after manager Luis Enrique's shock announcement that he will quit the club.
And no progress has been made by Messi's father Jorge in his bid to secure his son a new deal.
That means that the man deemed by many as the greatest footballer of all time could potentially sign a pre-contract agreement at a club in England next year.
Respected Spanish football expert Graham Hunter revealed as much when he spoke to .
He said: "Leo Messi's contract means he can sign free for anybody in January.
"No club should let a brilliant, all-time player like that run his contract down so low.
"Messi's father is the one who negotiates his contract and went home with no progress last week.
"What you can absolutely be clear about is that until Leo Messi knows the future of the club, what's happening next season, who will be signed, who will be sold, he won't be committing.
"The sudden move between Messi's father going home without progress in contract negotiations and Luis Enrique doing what he hadn't been willing to do and say 'I'm leaving' - there is a direct causal connection."
What is a pre-contract agreement and how does it work?
A pre-contract is an angreement between a player and a club to take the player's registration at a later date.
The agreement can be signed when the player is still at another club.
The key tenet of a pre-contract is a player agreeing to move to the club at a later date, usually after their contract with their current side expires.
A pre-contract can be broken.
Ross County midfielder Richard Brittain signed a pre-contract with St Johnstone in January 2013.
But the player changed his mind three months later and the Scottish FA stepped in, ruling that Brittain could remain at Ross County.
An agreement can also be reached for one club to pay a fee to sign a player early.
Spurs did that with Lewis Holtby in January 2013 after his pre-contract stipulated he would join later that summer.
Messi scored the first in Barca's 6-1 demolition of Sporting Gijon last night to go top of La Liga after Real Madrid were held to a draw against Las Palmas at home.
But big questions remain over whether or not he will stay at the club he has been with since 2001.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner's contract expires on June 30 next year.
And senior figures within the club are said to be fretting over how long it is taking for Messi to put pen to paper.
Others fear that the potential new contract is becoming more and more expensive with every passing day.
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And that has opened the door to a possible move to England - and possible reunion with Pep Guardiola.
SunSport told you last month how Manchester City told Barca bosses they were willing to fork out £100million for the Argentinian.
And negotiations between executives of both clubs were held last December to determine if a world-record transfer was possible.
And now, no matter how unlikely it is, the situation has arisen where the cheque book may not be needed after all.