Lionel Messi’s deal “is expected to cost Barcelona a staggering £ 492 million when it ends this summer, with a guaranteed £ 122 million season a season in gross salary from the deal he signed four years ago” while the financial problems of cashless giants continue
- Lionel Messi’s contract will cost Barcelona £ 492 million
- The 33-year-old should leave Camp Nou for free this summer
- A combination of salary, image rights and other variables led to the cost
- Barcelona is in financial crisis with the pandemic that led to the crisis
Lionel Messi’s current contract will cost Barcelona € 555 million (£ 492 million) when it concludes this summer, El Mundo said on Sunday.
The four-year contract was signed in 2017 and will end in June, when the 33-year-old businessman will not be able to leave for nothing.
El Mundo says that the combination of fixed salary, image rights, variables and the tax that Barcelona had to pay in the contract will amount to € 555,237,619.
Lionel Messi’s contract with Barcelona is expected to cost the club with colossal money problems £ 492 million
The figure was released by the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, describing Barcelona’s financial problems
Messi is guaranteed 138 million euros (122 million pounds) per season of gross salary, according to the leaked contract.
The spill is likely to infuriate Messi’s camp and further destabilize Barcelona, as the club stumbles over elections originally planned for last week but now postponed to March 7 because of the coronavirus.
Days after the club published its 2019-20 financial report, it revealed a gross debt of € 1.2 billion (£ 1 billion).
The 33-year-old must leave Camp Nou for free this summer, ending a 17-year stay
Catalans are in financial trouble due to the pandemic and have asked banks for help
The club tried to obtain a loan of 100 million euros linked to the future sale of stars
This debt includes a short-term debt of € 720 million (£ 638 million), € 266 million (£ 236 million) of which is due to several banks and financial institutions and needs to be paid before 30 June.
One of the creditors is Goldman Sachs, an important long-term financial partner in the club’s € 800 million reconstruction project for the Camp Nou.
Catalan newspaper El Periódico reported last week that the club was trying to secure a new € 100 million (£ 89 million) loan linked to the future sale of players.
Barcelona needs to refinance its debts to avoid having to change the club’s structure, allowing private investors to inject money in exchange for a certain degree of control.
