Lionel Messi's future takes a very surprising turn following El Clasico humiliation

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By Danny Ryan

Published Aug 17, 2017

Barcelona lost 2-0 to Real Madrid in the Bernabeu

After years of domination over European football, Wednesday night signalled the end of one of the game's finest eras.

Barcelona were humbled in the Spanish capital by their bitter rivals Real Madrid and now, no one can have any doubts that Zinedine Zidane's side are way ahead of the Blaugrana.

Two consecutive Champions League trophies pretty much confirmed the fact but Barca's 2-0 loss in the Bernabeu has made everyone realise.

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Ernesto Valverde's Neymar-less side were torn apart all across the pitch and to rub salt in the wound, Luis Suarez picked up a knee injury that will see him ruled out for up to a month.

Surely, things could only get better, particularly with the club supposedly close to deals for both Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele.

However, in the aftermath of the game on Thursday, Barca fans were hit with a bombshell that may even eclipse the departure of Neymar.

At Paulinho's unveiling, Barca vice-president Jordi Mestre revealed that the Argentine superstar Lionel Mesi has still not signed a new contract despite the club announcing he had back in July.

He said, per Goal: "It is all agreed and we are waiting for a date for the signing. Everything is in place, with just the signature missing.

“Leo's renewal is something we are totally clear about and we have worked on it for a long time. Everything looks very good and I would be very surprised if the signing didn't happen."

What is even more worrying is that despite Mestre's confidence that the club legend will sign, he wrongly predicted that Neymar would stay, claiming he was "200% sure".

If the 30-year-old opts to reject the deal due to their early season collapse, Messi could leave on a free next summer.