Messi signs new contract with Barca

World Player of the Year Lionel Messi has signed a new contract with Barcelona which ties him until June 30 2018, the Spanish league leaders said on Thursday. The 25-year-old penned a deal agreed in December, which includes a two-year extension on his previous agreement and secures his services until he is 31. The Argentina captain joined Barcelona's youth academy as a 13-year-old and made his first-team debut at 16. Messi is Barca's leading scorer of all time, he has been the top scorer in the Champions League for the last four years and racked up a calendar year record 91 goals for club and country in 2012.