Barcelona will face a staggering cost of €555 million (£492m) once Lionel Messi’s current contract expires this summer, according to an extensive leak revealing the details of his deal. Signed in 2017, the four-year agreement will come to an end in June, granting the 33-year-old the freedom to depart without a transfer fee. Spanish publication El Mundo, with a headline asserting it will “ruin Barcelona,” disclosed that the total expenditure includes a combination of a fixed salary, image rights, variables, and taxes imposed on the contract by the club.
Barcelona is projected to bear the enormous burden of £492m due to Lionel Messi’s contract, as the club faces financial constraints.
The Spanish publication El Mundo has disclosed an alarming figure regarding Barcelona’s financial troubles. According to the leaked contract, Lionel Messi is guaranteed to receive €138m (£122m) per season as his gross salary. In addition, Messi received a generous “renewal fee” of €115m (£102m) when he accepted the contract. Moreover, as a loyalty bonus for staying at the Nou Camp, he takes home €79m (£69m) each year.
El Mundo’s report reveals that Messi still has five months remaining on his current deal, and his earnings thus far have reached an astounding £452m (€511m). The newspaper meticulously examined both his standard contract and image rights, outlining the fulfillment of various performance-related criteria since the 2017-18 season.
As part of his existing agreement, Messi earned an extra £616,172 (€695,748) after winning FIFA’s Best Player award during the 2018-19 campaign. Furthermore, if Barcelona manages to win the elusive Champions League title, Messi is guaranteed a jaw-dropping £3.1m (€3.5m) payout – a feat the club hasn’t accomplished since 2015.
Other performance-related variables include an additional £1.75m (€1.9m) for playing 60 percent of the games, as well as supplementary payments for advancing to each knockout stage of the Champions League, winning LaLiga, and clinching the Copa del Rey.
Due to Barcelona’s disappointing performance last season, both the club and Messi were able to avoid paying many of the variables outlined in his contract. Additionally, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, Messi and the rest of the Barcelona squad agreed to a 70 percent reduction in their salaries.
On Sunday, El Mundo disclosed the terms of the player’s agreement (left), a move that is expected to greatly upset Messi’s team.
The former president of Barcelona, Josep Bartomeu, and the talented footballer Lionel Messi exchange friendly greetings during the signing of their contract back in 2016.
Only one of the 10 conditions listed in Messi’s contract was met, which occurred when his team reached the last 16 of the Champions League and earned him £985,966 (€1.1m). With a staggering total of £492m, Messi’s contract now holds the record for the largest in sports history, surpassing deals such as Patrick Mahomes’ £402m 10-year agreement with the Kansas City Chiefs and Canelo Alvarez’s £292m five-fight deal with DAZN. While the full details of Messi’s contract, with sensitive information redacted, were featured on the front page of a Spanish newspaper, this has angered Messi’s team, who are reportedly considering legal action against El Mundo. Barcelona, in response to the leak, expressed regret over the publication of the private document and expressed their support for Messi, emphasizing that the contract is bound by confidentiality between the involved parties.
Amid the financial turmoil caused by the pandemic, the Catalonians are facing difficulties and have turned to banks for assistance. In response to the recent leak, FC Barcelona vehemently denies any involvement in the document’s release and plans to take legal action against El Mundo newspaper for any potential harm caused. The club emphasizes its unwavering support for Lionel Messi, particularly in light of any attempts to tarnish his reputation and strain his relationship with the organization. This unauthorized reveal will only exacerbate Barcelona’s instability as it struggles towards the postponed elections, originally slated for last week but now rescheduled for March 7 due to the ongoing impact of the coronavirus. To compound the club’s troubles, their recently published financial report for the 2019-20 period highlights a substantial gross debt of €1.2 billion (£1 billion).
The football club has made attempts to obtain a loan amounting to €100m, which is tied to the future transfer of their star players. In addition to this, they also owe a short-term debt of €720m (£638m), with €266m (£236m) of it being owed to various banks and financial institutions, which must be paid off by June 30. One of the creditors is Goldman Sachs, a significant partner in the club’s planned redevelopment of the Nou Camp, which amounts to €800m. The Catalan newspaper El Periodico recently reported that the club is making efforts to secure an additional loan of €100m (£89m), which is dependent on the future sale of players. Refinancing their debts is crucial for Barcelona to maintain their current structure without private investors having too much control, as they seek to inject money into the club.