A copy of Messi’s big-money contract with Barcelona has been leaked to the Spanish press, with the club and player set to take legal action.
Barcelona have denied any involvement in Lionel Messi’s contract leak and have vowed to take legal action against Spanish outlet El Mundo for publishing the document in its newspaper.
El Mundo claims to have obtained a copy of the six-time Ballon d’Or winner’s contract at Barcelona. The figures released by the newspaper confirm he has the biggest contract in sports history with total earnings of €555,237,619 across a four-year period – pending a set of conditions are met.
Spanish newspaper El Mundo claims it has obtained a copy of Lionel Messi's Barcelona contract.
According to the report, Messi would have earned €555,237,619 since signing it four seasons ago.
Making the deal the biggest in sports history 💰 pic.twitter.com/GctslzKltd
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 31, 2021
Messi signed the deal, which will expire this June, in November 2017, and is reportedly furious over the leak. According to RAC1, he will take legal action against El Mundo and will be backed by Barcelona.
A club statement read: “FC Barcelona categorically denies any responsibility for the publication of this document, and will take appropriate legal action against the newspaper El Mundo, for any damage that may be caused as a result of this publication.
“FC Barcelona expresses its absolute support for Lionel Messi, especially in the face of any attempt to discredit his image, and to damage his relationship with the entity where he has worked to become the best player in the world and in football history.”
The details of Messi’s contract
Considering the Blaugrana’s precarious financial situation, with over a billion euros in debt, El Mundo’s leak couldn’t have come at a more unwelcome moment.
The Spanish outlet claim Messi’s 30-page contract obliges the club to pay him the following amounts:
- €138,000,000 per season, including variables.
- €115,225,000 signing-on bonus
- €77,929,955 loyalty bonus.
Messi has apparently earned €511,540,545 already, with still another five months left on his lucrative contract.
Barcelona are on the verge of total bankruptcy. The club are €1,173M in debt in total; a sum of €730M of the debt is owed short term and €266M is owed to banks by June 30th which must be paid, €90M of which is owed directly to Goldman Sachs. [el mundo via @footballespana_] pic.twitter.com/tcdbYXBHCa
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) January 25, 2021
The 33-year-old attempted to leave Barcelona last summer as a free agent. And while former president Josep Maria Bartomeu was able to legally bind him to the club for this season, he can leave Camp Nou for free in 2021.
Whoever succeeds Bartomeu as the new Barcelona president on March 7 will be tasked with tying down Messi’s future.
But considering this latest event, the Blaugrana’s hopes of keeping their skipper have suffered yet another setback.
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