Over the course of Lionel Messi’s illustrious career, it has always been a given that the FC Barcelona star was well compensated for his talents.
There has never been a better time to be arguably the greatest player in history in one of the world’s richest clubs. You could assume Messi was paid along the lines of the world’s top athletes, such as Patrick Mahomes, LeBron James, and Mike Trout.
Thanks to a leak through the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, we now know that you could be thinking wrong. Very wrong.
In reality, Messi’s reported income blows every known athlete’s salary out of the water, even the half-billion-dollar contract Mahomes received last year and reportedly set a record in the sports industry.
Lionel Messi’s contract is a world shaker
Here are the figures of the contract Messi signed in 2017, through Italian reporter Fabrizio Romano: € 555,237,619 over four years, with an annual salary of € 138 million including variables, an “extension fee” of € 115 million and a loyalty of € 77 million bonus.
With five months to go, Messi has already made $ 511 million.
El Mundo today, what a bomb. Leo Messi’s contract with Barcelona revealed on the front page 🔴👇🏻 @elmundoes
– contract € 555,237,619 [4 years].
– € 138 million per season fixed + variables.
– € 115,225,000 as ‘renewal fee’ only for accepting the contract.
– € 77,929,955 loyalty bonus. pic.twitter.com/FK3I34hJta
– Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 31, 2021
Those numbers add up to $ 674 million for the entire contract, $ 167 million per year, $ 139 million renewal fees and a loyalty bonus of $ 94.6 million in 2020 dollars.
Compare that to Mahomes’s $ 503 million 10-year deal ($ 450 million in reality from a creative accountant) or Mike Trout’s $ 420 million 12-year contract, and you’ll see that the highest echelons of the European football blowing the Americans away. sports salaries. Messi’s contract is higher than the highest marks on the biggest contract ever, and it is only over the course of four years. The total amount over the course of the contract comes to approximately $ 320.55 per minute.
In fact, Messi’s annual income is $ 167 million higher than the combined salaries of Trout, LeBron James, Tom Brady, and Connor McDavid this year, according to Spotrac’s annual cash figures.
Just because of his income from Barcelona, it seems likely that Messi is already a billionaire. Even more incredible is that Messi actually tried to get out of this contract a few months ago, looking for a club to pay for an $ 828 million release clause.
Barcelona’s finances are in bad shape
Why are we only now finding out about Messi’s salary?
Well, it may have something to do with where Barcelona is currently financially, and the fact that Messi appears to be planning to leave the club in a few months.
Barcelona’s downturn on the world stage coincided with an overwhelming accumulation of debt amid player takeovers and the COVID-19 financial crisis in the sports world. According to ESPN, Barcelona’s total debt currently stands at € 1.173 billion, with net debt of € 488 million, of which player spending is said to be 74 percent.
That’s not unlike what many other football giants are going through at the moment (Real Madrid’s debt is said to be £ 901m), but it’s astonishing nonetheless. So it makes sense why Messi’s salary has come out of nowhere, with Barcelona on the brink of a painful spell of austerity.
Messi’s genius has brought millions, perhaps billions, to Barcelona over the years. Barcelona signed him for that deal for a reason; it has been one of the most valuable sports products on the planet for ten years. Now the club is best served by reminding its fans what it costs.
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