Fans know that Messi was earning a serious amount of cash at Barcelona - the club he has played for his entire career - but we didn't realise he was getting paid this much.
Well, the newspaper claims that Messi earns a maximum of 555,237,619 EUR over four seasons if a series of conditions are met. Not only this, but Messi's four-year deal at the Camp Nou also included a signing-on bonus of 115,225,000 EUR for accepting the initial renewal and a massive loyalty bonus of 77,929,955 EUR.
That roughly means that with just five months left on the deal agreed between club and player in November 2017, the player has already earned 511,540,545 EUR - not to mention that he would have had to pay around half of that amount in taxes. Simplifying the big numbers for you, the Argentine forward rakes in a reported 138,000,000 EUR per season and, if those numbers are indeed correct, it would be the biggest sports deal in the history.
📰 Portada de EL MUNDO del domingo 31 de enero. Ya disponible en Orbyt y en nuestra edición digital con la mejor información #ContratoMessi pic.twitter.com/7eSiodkSCb
— EL MUNDO (@elmundoes) January 30, 2021
Lionel Messi’s contract is worth €555m... which includes an annual salary of €138m with a €78m loyalty bonus. It’s no wonder Barcelona are in such big debt and are on the verge of bankruptcy.
— TC. (@totalcristiano) January 31, 2021
Lionel signed the contract way back in 2017 and it expires on June 30 this year. Reports suggest that the club would try and convince Messi to stay back at Camp Nou, but it would not be easy for the Catalans.
Following the 8-2 humiliation against Bayern Munich in the Champions League last year, reportedly, Messi tried to leave the club for a better future elsewhere. He was determined to leave and arguing that a clause in the deal allowed him to walk away for free.
But in the end, he decided to not get into legal trouble with the club he started his career with and won many laurels and trophies. Messi also revealed that his family was the other factor that made him change his mind.
