Following the recent renewals of Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernández, Lionel Messi today put pen to paper to sign a two-year extension to his current contract with FC Barcelona, which was due to expire in 2016. Despite breaking a plethora of records in 2012 and claiming a record fourth Ballon d’Or in January, Messi’s salary has not increased, while his buyout clause reportedly remains at a surprisingly low €250 million. The new deal – which was announced by the club in December – therefore expires in 2018.

This is Messi’s sixth contract extension in the past eight seasons, and as expected, it has been well-received by everyone involved with the club. After all, who wouldn’t want Lionel Messi to remain at the club for as long as possible? As Jordi Alba so succinctly put it, "He is the best player in the world and as long as nothing happens, he’ll be the best ever".