Barcelona director hopes Messi ends contract limbo 'soon'

Barcelona supporters fretting over Lionel Messi's future at the club may have to sweat it out a little longer.

Sporting director Robert Fernandez hopes the tricky Argentine will put pen to paper on a new contract with the Blaugrana sometime "soon," although he didn't provide a specific date.

Messi has yet to formalise the four-year deal that Barcelona announced in July, even if, as president Josep Maria Bartomeu claims, his father has signed an agreement in his son's place.

Related: Barcelona president blames busy schedule for Messi not signing contract

Fernandez confirmed Bartomeu's interpretation of events Saturday, after Messi underscored his importance to Barcelona with a hat-trick performance against Espanyol.

"I point to our president's words. (The signing) is an act which could happen at any moment. I hope it's soon," Fernandez said, according to ESPN FC.

Pressure's on Bartomeu to tie down the 30-year-old, especially after a summer in which Neymar forced a move to Paris Saint-Germain. Fans at the Camp Nou have chanted for Bartomeu to resign amid a vote of no confidence from former presidential candidate Agusti Benedito.

"We have had a difficult month," Fernandez added. "The most important thing in these moments is to remain calm. In complicated situations, with the summer we've had, calm is necessary. If we let time pass a little, we will see things differently. We respect all opinions, but the last two, three weeks have been complicated."