Spanish newspaper El Mundo claims it has obtained a copy of Lionel Messi’s contract with Barcelona and says figures confirm that the star player’s deal is the largest in sports history.
According to the report, Messi would receive up to € 555,237,619 (US $ 673,919,105) over four seasons, if a series of conditions were met.
The contract was agreed in November 2017 and expires on June 30 this year, when Messi will leave Camp Nou if there is no agreement with the club on an extension.
Messi tried to leave Barcelona last summer, arguing that a clause in the deal allowed him to walk away for free, before eventually flinching.
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The magnitude of Barca’s financial commitment to Messi, 33, is one of a number of deals that have put the club’s accounts in a dangerous position.
Their most recent accounts showed that Barca’s total debt is over $ 1 billion and players’ wages account for nearly three-quarters of the club’s budget.
The El Mundo report – released late Saturday night – said Messi’s 30-page contract resulted in Barcelona agreeing to pay the attacker € 138 million per season, including variables.
It included a sign-up bonus of € 115,225,000 for accepting the renewal and a “loyalty bonus” of € 77,929,955.
The newspaper claims that, with five months to go, Messi has already made $ 511,540,545.
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– THE WORLD (@elmundoes) January 30, 2021
The contract coincided with Barcelona’s decline as a top-level force in Europe.
Messi led the team to win La Liga in 2018 and 2019, but the Champions League has eluded them and has been dramatically eliminated in consecutive seasons by Roma, Liverpool and Bayern Munich.
Those disappointments prompted Messi to attempt to force a departure in August 2020 in a move that shocked world football.
That was followed by the resignation of the president who agreed to Messi’s 2017 contract in October, Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Club elections to elect a new president – for whom resolving Messi’s future will be high on the agenda – were scheduled for Jan. 24, but have been postponed to March due to the coronavirus pandemic.