Lionel Messi to earn £170k-a-week until 2025 even after Barcelona exit
Barcelona’s agreement with Lionel Messi guarantees future payments.
Barcelona have been having a heavy amount of financial problems for quite some time now. However, with the election and a new president coming up at the end of this month, things are starting to look positive for the club.
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The Catalans absolutely annihilated players from the squad in the 2020 summer transfer window after being financially hit after the lockdown caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The sales of former players allowed the club to free up wages while raising funds for any new signings.
This situation was inevitable given the amount of money Barca spent on the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Antoine Griezmann, and Ousmane Dembele over the last few years. The sales of unwanted players, according to newly appointed Ronald Koeman, freed up expensive wage bills that the club used to pay out to the likes of Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal, and Luis Suarez, which were absolutely an astonishing amount of money.
Barca are still under financial stress and the new management would need to sort out funds for potential signings and player wages, most importantly that of Lionel Messi. With the Argentine now set to be a free agent in the summer of 2021, Barca might need to offer a new and improved contract to their captain.
Reports, however, now suggest that Barcelona will have to pay wages to Messi even if the Argentine decides to leave according to his latest agreement with the club. During the last contract signing in 2017, the Catalan giants had reportedly increased Messi’s wages by 100 million euros. The club also offered him a 78 million dollar bonus. Half of that bonus was only just recently paid off this year. The other half of it is still left which will be paid weekly to Messi until the amount is completely fulfilled.
Hence, up until the year 2025 or more, the Catalans will have to pay a rough amount of 170,000 euros per week to the Catalan legend in order to fulfill this current contract. The Argentine definitely has the option to leave Blaugrana in the summer transfer window of 2021 with Mauricio Pochettino’s Paris Saint-Germain and Josep Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City currently the favorites to land the Argentine’s signature.
If Messi does end up leaving the club, he will not only be earning wages from the future club but also receive a weekly cheque from Football club Barcelona. A rough amount of 170,000 euros will have to be paid to the Argentine weekly, till the year 2025 in order for the Catalans to fulfill their agreement of the contract.
Will this agreement cause more financial hardship for Barca?