As per Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Lionel Messi has become the highest-paid sportsperson in history as his contract has now reached over $673 million USD. The statistics say his contract amount stands at USD 67,39,19,105 or 55,52,37,619 Euros, for four seasons considering that the terms and conditions of the contract are met, the highest ever for an athlete.
The contract signed by the football legend in October 2017 in presence of the club president Josep Maria Bartomeu is set to expire on June 30th, 2021 if there is no further agreement between the club and the Argentian player.
The contract details which were allegedly leaked were accessed by the Spanish newspaper El Mundo have reported the details of the contract which also represented the clause that Messi was not free to walk out before the expiry date of the contract, even for free before paying the humongous contract amount to the club.
The El Mundo report also stated, releasing the 30-page contract, that the Barcelona club is set to pay the footballer 138,000,000 Euros per season, including endorsements. Along with this, the Catalan star’s payment also included a signing bonus of 115,225,000 Euros and an add on of loyalty bonus of 77,929,955 Euros for his 17 years career with the Camp Nou club.
The contract came into the limelight in August 2020 when Messi tried to walk away from the club and was followed by several threats of a lawsuit that would impose a penalty of the whole contract amount. The Argentian was eventually coerced to back out from resigning and will wait till the end of the contract voidability.
The topic became leading headlines when the Club President Bartomeu also resigned after the pressure from the paparazzi and the club supporters.
Lionel Messi, the 33-year-old who brought the La Liga Championship for the club in 2018 and 2019 lacked the motivation to continue with the club following consecutive eliminations from Premier League for three straight seasons by Roma, Liverpool, and Bayern Munich. Messi’s future now depends on the new elections for President following Bartomeu’s resignation as the speculations suggest that Messi’s departure will be the main agenda for the club right now.
