Messi to sign Barça extension until 2018

Barcelona have announced on their official website that Lionel Messi will sign a new contract with the Catalonian powerhouse until the summer of 2018.

The Argentine's current deal had been set to expire in 2016, but Barcelona had already reached an agreement with the Argentine over a two-year extension in December 2012, and the prolific attacker will put pen to paper later this week.

Messi will reportedly earn an annual salary of 11 million euros after taxes, while he has a 250 million euros buy-out clause in his new deal.

The 25-year-old is the third key player to sign a contract extension with Barca in 2013 after previous new deals for captain Carles Puyol and vice-captain Xavi Hernández.

Messi has made over 350 official appearances for Barcelona since making his official debut in 2004-05, netting nearly 300 goals in the process.