Barcelona presidential candidate Emili Rousaud says Lionel Messi must accept a new contract on reduced wages if he wishes to stay.
Rousaud was on the board of former president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Messi's current deal will expire in June and Rousaud warned: "Clearly, in the current environment of the club Messi's salary is not sustainable. It is unsustainable. An agreement must be reached. The project that we will present to him is attractive."
Rousaud says he's staying in contact with Messi via his former agent Josep Maria Minguella.
He also told AS: "I'm talking about Minguella. He brought Leo to the club. He went to Argentina and waited at six in the morning for his father to leave the factory to speak with him. It has a very good relationship with all his surroundings.
"That marks that we will have a good communication channel, it does not mean that like Minguella and Messi he will do what I tell him. There may or may not be an agreement."
