Take the salaries of all the players of OGC Nice and FC Nantes, two Ligue 1 clubs. Mix them up and you will more or less fall on Messi’s emoluments at FC Barcelona. That is approximately 86 million euros gross per year, including premiums.
By formalizing Tuesday his desires elsewhere, the Argentinian genius, the highest paid player in the world, stuck the football planet. But who really has an interest in breaking the bank to afford the “Pulga”, the man with the six Golden Balloons? According to football business specialists interviewed by Le Parisien, such a transfer is not necessarily a golden affair as it will be difficult to amortize.
“I am not sure that recruiting Messi can be mechanically profitable on the financial plan”, advance for the Parisian Bastien Drut, author of “Mercato, the economy of football in the XXIst century”. At first glance, the scenario is reminiscent of that of his rival Cristiano Ronaldo, when he decided in 2018 to leave the kingdom of Madrid and Spain to try the Turin adventure. Same age (33), same desire for renewal after a golden era … A year after this transaction, revenues from sales of swimsuits, derivative products or even museum visits had thus jumped by 40%, according to La Gazetta dello Sport.
An uncertain marketing value
Only, “Juventus had also and above all been able to renegotiate its equipment supplier contract and its jersey sponsorship contract after the signing of Ronaldo”, insists the economist Bastien Drut, who speaks of an increase “of fifty million per season” . It is the same logic that prompted PSG to take out the ingots for Neymar, a way of taking a step forward on the continental scene with a player also younger (25 years old).
With Messi, the chances for his potential future club to benefit from a similar added value appear lower. First reason: “The clubs capable today of offering salaries as high as those of Messi, such as Manchester City, Manchester United or PSG already have already very high sponsorship contracts”, continues Bastien Drut.
Then comes the question of marketing and the relative lack of awareness of the Argentine. Compared to Neymar and CR7, Messi has lower advertising revenue and less visibility on social networks. “These two do a lot, and they like it. Messi, conversely, is becoming rarer. It is less in the show, and therefore less monetizable ”, summarizes Vincent Chaudel, expert and founder of the Observatory of sport business.
Swimwear sales, a pittance
The economic slump caused by the Covid-19 pandemic does not help the picture. In the short term, sponsors and broadcasters may be less inclined to sign big revaluations. Same caution in the clubs, cut off from their ticketing revenues because of the gauges imposed in the stadiums. Moreover, contrary to a widespread legend, jersey sales will not be enough to cushion such a transfer. The great majority of supporters ‘money ends up in the equipment manufacturers’ coffers.
Once all these factors are together, there is therefore something to think twice before pulling out the checkbook. Even if these doubts about a return on investment also obviously depend on the terrain. “I don’t think we can lose a lot of money with Messi, because he’s still a superstar. A player of this caliber, even at that age, can make you win trophies and therefore profits, ”nuance Christophe Lepetit, economist at the CDES (Center for Sports Law and Economics) in Limoges.
A story of clauses
According to the specialized press, only a few clubs would have the means to welcome the Argentine legend into their ranks: Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan, Manchester United or Manchester City. The latter seems for the moment the most credible point of fall, sportingly and financially. Owned by the United Arab Emirates, the club is also managed by Pep Guardiola, Messi’s coach during Barça’s golden age (2008-2012).
It remains to raise one last point, and not the smallest. A complex legal dispute has opposed FC Barcelona and its offspring since Wednesday. Lionel Messi says he can play a clause allowing him to terminate his contract “unilaterally”, as at the end of each season. Catalan management believes that this deadline has passed, which would force the suitors to release the sum of 700 million euros to exceed the club’s consent. Difficult today to imagine a club paying such a sum.
