I'll be honest I would rather think long term than get Messi but I was wondering did the wage cut situation come as a surprise to Barca because apparently it isn't a new rule and they had been warned about their wages last season. If they did know then surely Messi did as well and he would have known the contract had to be signed before it ended or they would end up in the situation they are in now were as it stands I don't think they can register him even if decided to stay. It does seem strange that he didn't sign the contract and let Barca sort the rest it would have been one problem off their backs. I may have misunderstood the whole thing though.