FC Barcelona
Astronomical salary published: the dirty war over Lionel Messi
FC Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman has stood behind Lionel Messi, here archive images, just hours after details of Messi’s lucrative contract were published in Spanish media. O-Ton: “Well in this case what happened in the press was probably done with very bad intent, to be honest. It looks like harming a player for whom we have a lot of respect Someone who has given a lot for Spanish football and for this club, until today! ” On Sunday, El Mundo newspaper revealed the total amount Barca had spent on Messi’s current contract with the club. The newspaper wrote that the cost of the deal had ruined “Barca”. They are the cause of the club’s current financial crisis. FC Barcelona have announced that they may sue “El Mundo” for disclosing confidential information. The official version of the leadership of the Spanish “La Liga” is that “Barca” have financial problems because of the coronavirus pandemic and not because of Messi’s contract.
With the release of his contract, the world now knows how much Lionel Messi makes. The question remains why someone apparently wants to harm Messi. Only one thing is certain: FC Barcelona is sinking more and more into a swamp of intrigue.
Now we finally know how much Lionel Messi makes. One suspected that it would be a very, very large sum. But so high? The sums that the Spanish newspaper “El Mundo” presented on Sunday have haunted the world like reports since then, as if an alien had landed. Somehow a great thing, but you don’t really want to believe it.
Briefly summarized the most important figures: Messi’s salary at FC Barcelona is said to be a gross 555,237,619 euros in four years, if he skims all possible bonuses and premiums. He won’t be able to do that. “El Mundo” calculated to an astonished public that it will probably only receive 92 percent of the volume, that is just under 511,000,000 euros, making an estimated net 297 million euros (fixed salary 74.9 million euros). That makes an income of 210,000 euros per day. The Argentine is said to have collected 97.9 million euros just for signing the four-year working paper.
What’s behind the publication?
Meanwhile, the naked man did not let himself be disturbed in his work. In the game against Athletic Bilbao, he conjured a free kick into the corner, otherwise he was silent. FC Barcelona won 2-1 and are now second in the table. Coach Ronald Koeman defended himself in front of his superstar: “What came out should harm him,” Koeman said on Sunday evening after FC Barcelona’s 2-1 win over Bilbao: “Messi deserves respect. He has so much for the Spanish Soccer done. ” And: “There are people who want to hurt Barcelona and Messi,” said Koeman.
But who? That’s the big question right now. Because hardly anyone believes that the time of publication is a coincidence. The proud Catalan club has been sinking into a swamp of intrigue and power struggles for over a year. President Josep Bartomeo resigned in October and a new club boss is due to be elected in March. It was recently announced that FC Barcelona is in debt with over 1.17 billion euros. Of this, 730.67 million euros are short-term liabilities, wrote the sports newspaper “AS”. The corona crisis has hit through. If something does not happen, the club faces bankruptcy – and now Messi’s contract is breached. The publication is supposed to somehow push the 33-year-old partly to blame for the existence-threatening debt.
Lionel Messi was in the game against Athletic Bilbao nothing of the publications about his salary – on the contrary: he conjured a free kick in the 2-1 win of FC Barcelona
© Alex Caparros / Getty Images
However, the attempt will probably fail completely for a variety of reasons. The association has announced legal steps. Messi’s lawyers want to take action against the newspaper and ex-president Bartomo. From Messi’s camp it is said that only he and four others from the management level knew about the contract.
Exposing Messi is not going to work
Even the attempt to paint the picture of a greedy professional who would have driven Barca to bankruptcy with excessively excessive demands will hardly work. The supporters of FC Barcelona know only too well that the incompetent club leadership under Bartomeo (president from 2014 to 2020) is responsible for the sporting downturn due to numerous unsuccessful transfers and wrong appointments in the dugout since 2015. And the salary structure is not only excessive due to Messi . Other professionals, whose sporting value is not always clearly recognizable, probably collect exorbitant salaries such as Ousmane Dembélé. In the case of Messi, it is also argued that the club made quite a lot of money through him. Sponsorship contracts, merchandising, dearly paid test games – the name Messi makes the income gush out.
The fact that the little Argentine stands for the club’s most successful period and is adored by the fans is practically a natural law in Barcelona. Just one example: In 48 years without him, the Catalans have won the national championship cup and the Champions League four times with him.
Still, Messi’s time at FC Barcelona could be running out. The relationship with the club has long since cooled down. There was already a lot of drama last summer when Messi, frustrated by unsuccessfulness and personnel decisions, wanted to change and the club bosses around Bartomeo only coolly referred to his contract. It runs out at the end of the season and there are obviously forces in the club who want to get rid of it. That could work.
Sources: DPA, “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, “Spiegel”, “ran”
