Barcelona has conducted its most important piece of business this summer, and probably of many more transfer windows after that.

The Blaugrana’s outrageous orchestrator, Lionel Messi, will sign a contract renewal with the club in “the coming weeks,” Barcelona announced on Wednesday. The fresh terms will extend the Argentinian’s agreement in Catalonia until June 30, 2021.

Messi’s pay packet is set to bloat to an astronomical £500,000 a week, The Independent’s Ed Malyon reports. To pluck Messi from the Camp Nou, Moises Llorens of AS understands it will cost a rival around €300 million to meet his new release clause.

Should he stay for the duration of the contract, it will extend Messi’s association with Barcelona to 21 years after he joined from Newell’s Old Boys at age 13. In that time he collected a plethora of silverware, including eight La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues. On a personal level, no one in football history has matched his tally of five Ballon d’Or prizes.

Messi’s goal record – he’s netted 507 times in 583 outings – eclipses any individual feat that has come before him at Barcelona. He now has the luxury of four years to add to his unrivalled legacy at the Spanish behemoth.

Barca detailed the records Messi could have on his radar in the coming years, which include:

• He’s two goals short of hitting 100 goals past non-Spanish teams.
• He’s nearly a centurion in Champions League football, with 94 goals in 115 matches. His rival Cristiano Ronaldo tops the pile with 105 strikes.
• He can win more club titles than anybody else. Messi has 30, but Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs leads with 36.
• Two more European titles will draw Messi level with record-holders Paolo Maldini, Arie Haan, and Dani Alves – all of whom have nine.
• The all-time leading scorer with a single club is Gerd Muller (Bayern Munich) with 525. Messi has 507.
• Messi and Ronaldo have four Golden Shoes apiece. Long may that battle continue.

Messi’s paperwork wards off any potential interest from Manchester City, which is overseen by his old boss Pep Guardiola, and brushes away any further concerns that he’ll seek an alternative challenge after it was widely reported he rejected an initial offer in May.

Messi is currently on his honeymoon with his childhood sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo, and his new contract will be waiting for him upon his return for pre-season training.

The Indianapolis Colts appeared to be set for the future when they had an impressive 2012 draft class that was highlighted by quarterback Andrew Luck. They enjoyed three straight playoff appearances and back-to-back undefeated seasons in the AFC South. But Indianapolis has missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, and the rest of the division slowly is getting better, from top to bottom.

The Colts have Luck, the Titans have Marcus Mariota, and the Texans might have their quarterback of the future in Deshaun Watson. Which team in the division has set itself up for long-term success with the way it is building its overall roster?

Sarah Barshop, Texans reporter: The Titans have set their roster up for the long run, and it starts with Mariota. Before suffering a season-ending injury in Week 16 last year, Mariota was on a run that stacked up well against any quarterback in the NFL. Offensively, Tennessee is set in the backfield with DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry. The Titans added No. 5 overall pick Corey Davis to their receiving corps, and Delanie Walker is as solid as they come at tight end. The offensive line is strong, and the Titans added to their defense this offseason by signing Super Bowl-winning cornerback Logan Ryan. Last season, Tennessee finished with the same record as the Texans but missed out on the playoffs due to a puzzling late-season loss to the Jaguars. While the Texans hope to have improved quarterback play in 2017, there’s no doubt Tennessee is the biggest threat to end Houston’s two-year reign atop the division. Moving forward, the Titans’ young talent puts them in a great spot to maintain potential success.

Michael DiRocco, Jaguars reporter: I really like what the Titans have done under general manager Jon Robinson and coach Mike Mularkey, who was fired after only one season in Jacksonville. Hitting on Mariota obviously is a big plus, but they’ve also invested heavily in the offensive line and run game — with right tackle Jack Conklin and running backs Murray and Henry — which fits right in with Mularkey’s old-school philosophy. Robinson gave Mariota some much-needed weapons for this season, led by rookie receiver Davis, and bolstered the secondary with Adoree’ Jackson. The Colts still have a lot of work to do to fix an aging defense. Nobody’s sure whether Watson will be a solid starter for the Texans, and if he takes several seasons to hit his stride, Houston’s defensive stars might be on the back end of their careers by then. The Jaguars might be searching for a quarterback after this season, and their offensive line still is one of their biggest weaknesses.

Romelu Lukaku used his holiday with friend Paul Pogba to do some training ahead of an expected £75-million transfer to Manchester United.

The Everton striker, 24, was subject of an agreement between his current club and United that became public knowledge on Thursday, and it’s hoped that the move can be thrashed out before Jose Mourinho’s squad flies into Los Angeles on Sunday for its American tour.

At United, Lukaku would become a teammate of Pogba’s, who shares the same agent in the controversial Mino Raiola. A video of the pair training at the UCLA campus in California was posted on Pogba’s Instagram, and The Mirror’s Jake Polden speculates that Lukaku underwent his medical at the same destination on Thursday evening.

Related – Report: Lukaku to have medical ahead of £75M move to Manchester United

Considering Pogba’s relationship with Lukaku, the Frenchman is credited with playing a pivotal part in convincing the marksman to shift to United. Lukaku had previously been linked with a return to Chelsea, the outfit he left permanently in 2014 to seek first-team football on Merseyside.

Related – Top 6: Ranking the title challengers’ transfer business so far

The Belgian steadily grew into one of the most potent finishers in the Premier League with Everton, counting 25 goals in the 2016-17 campaign and 85 over the last five seasons.

United fans based in the U.S. may be scrambling for tickets for the side’s upcoming friendly encounters to catch a glimpse of Lukaku in red. The tour takes in stops across four different states to face the LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Barcelona.

(Photos courtesy: @samuelluckhurst)

As soon as the news broke that wide receiver Torrey Smith will be released by the San Francisco 49ers, the biggest question among Baltimore football fans on social media became: What are the chances that Smith will reunite with the Baltimore Ravens?

The answer: It likely depends on Mike Wallace’s future in Baltimore.

It doesn’t make sense for the Ravens to add another downfield threat if they keep Wallace to go along with Breshad Perriman. But if Baltimore doesn’t pick up Wallace’s option this week, that could pave the way for QB Joe Flacco throwing the ball deep to Smith again.

Last week, coach John Harbaugh said he anticipates that Wallace will be on the team in 2017. But economics, especially for a team looking to maximize every cap dollar, can alter plans.

Wallace, 30, is scheduled to make $5.75 million in 2017 (which includes a $1 million roster bonus) and count $8 million against Baltimore’s cap (fifth-highest on the team). If Smith’s price would come in lower after two disappointing seasons in San Francisco, the Ravens would have to seriously consider swapping Wallace for one of their playmakers from the 2012 Super Bowl team.

Other teams — such as the Tennessee Titans ($64 million in cap room), Cleveland Browns ($105 million), Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($69.6 million), New England Patriots ($59 million) and New York Giants ($14.6 million) — can offer more than the Ravens because Baltimore has limited cap room ($14.3 million). Where the Ravens have the advantage is Smith’s connection with Baltimore and familiarity with Flacco.

When he left the Ravens in 2015, Smith posted on his blog: “Although I may no longer be a member of the Baltimore Ravens, at heart, I will always be a Raven.”