According to Spanish news source, El Mundo, they have somehow attained a leaked version of the contract agreement between Lionel Messi and Barcelona. The Argentine skipper’s wages is said to be the biggest in sports history and a major chunk of the club’s budget just goes on to finance the one player. It will be a huge loss for the club if they let him go for free after more than half a billion euros on him, in the last five years alone.
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According to the report, leaked by El Mundo, the Barcelona legend has acquired 511,540,545 euros since the agreement of his current contract. His contract was renewed in November of 2017 and the club had to pay an insane amount to keep his services. The Catalans apparently paid 115,225,000 euros to the player as a signing bonus and also paid an extra 77,929,955 euros as a “Loyalty Bonus”.
The player could have amassed the sum of 555,237,619 euros by the end of June 2020 had he met all of the conditions. This means that the club has been paying Lionel Messi 138,000,000 euros per season, including variables. This is an enormous figure, the biggest in sports history, and his wages alone takes up almost three-quarters of the club’s budget.
The player while still being the most decorated individual footballer has failed to help his team lift a UEFA Champions League after the departure of Neymar Jr. The club’s most recent humiliation at the hands of German giants, Bayern Munich was enough for Messi to ask to be let go off.
According to Messi, his 30-page contract says that he could leave the club at the end of the season for free, if he wishes to. However, Josep Bartomeu, found a loophole to force the player into staying. Now the player’s contract is coming to an end and it will be another huge task to keep him at the club. Barcelona can in no way shape or form afford his same wages but if they lose him for free, it will be an even bigger loss.
Regardless of who leaked the details of his contract, It is clear that the reason behind it was to show Messi in a negative light, but the reality is that the Argentine has earned every penny of this lucrative wage deal while earning it all back for the club through his status.