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So a club, 1B in debt, offers over half a billion to retain a 33yo player who wanted out and stayed only because he did not want to go through legal contract issues? I smell some BS and an attempt to sell Messi as high as possible in a down market.
IF this were true, they would be rewarding his contributions, loyalty, and fan base, which I am good with. He deserves it. If the market allows this type of money, he deserves it.
Lionel Messi’s leaked Barcelona contract reveals his eye-watering salary
The details of Lionel Messi’s Barcelona contract has been leaked to the public and the 33-year-old’s deal is reportedly worth a maximum of €555,237,619.
The reported figure is distributed over four seasons and requires certain clauses within the contract to be fulfilled.
Spanish publication El Mundo reportedly received a copy of the Argentine’s contract which he signed in 2017 with the Catalan club. The contract includes extras and payments that amount to €138m every season.
Barcelona debt.
The staggering figures come at a time when Barcelona revealed they were burdened with €1.2b worth of debt of which €730m was due to be paid in the short term.
El Mundo’s report went on to reveal that Messi’s contract included a signing-on bonus of €115,225,000 for agreeing to the contract renewal and a loyalty bonus of €77,929,955.
The outlet also claims that Messi’s contract is the most lucrative deal handed to any athlete in history.
Additionally, the report highlighted that the Barcelona number 10 has already received more than €510m of the total figure stipulated in his contract, which is due to expire on June 30th 2021.
It must also be noted that the six-time Ballon d’Or winner agreed to take a pay cut when the pandemic struck and as such, he won’t earn the exact amount mentioned above.