Josep Maria Minguella believes Barcelona must sell players to fund Lionel Messi's new contract.

The Argentine is currently a free agent after his Barca deal expired on June 30.

Minguella, who brought Messi to Barca when the Argentine was a junior, told Marca: "His renewal has not yet been announced because there are financial difficulties. Although Leo and his family really want to stay in Barcelona, the economic conditions prevent it. The issue has not been resolved, but as a Barcelona fan I would love to have it happen.

"It is a very complex issue, when a club wants to acquire a player and has financial problems, it has to make inventions, use its head and use a lot of imagination to achieve it. And that is what is happening to Barça now."