What did the leaked documents show?
According to El Mundo, Messi could receive € 555 237 619 (£ 491 732 285) over four seasons if a series of conditions are met, while earning a basic salary of around € 72 million (£ 63.76 million) annually. pay.
The newspaper claims that the contract that Messi signed was strongly encouraged. Messi allegedly received a renewal bonus of € 115 million (£ 102 million) just for signing the contract, as well as a ‘loyalty bonus’ of € 77 million (£ 68.19 million) which was split into two payments.
The newspaper adds that Messi receives further bonuses for playing more than 60 percent of the matches over the course of a season, as well as progressing in the Champions League, winning La Liga or the Copa del Rey, and the winning FIFA’s The Best Award.
According to the report, the 33-year-old player may have secured more than € 510 million (£ 451.67 million) of the total.
So, has Messi really earned € 510 million from Barcelona since 2017?
No. Barcelona players also accepted a 70 per cent pay cut in March at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and promised donations to help the club’s non-sporting staff receive their full wages.
Messi will also have to pay about half of his annual salary in taxes in Spain.
A number of performance-related bonuses have not been reached.
How did Barcelona react?
Barcelona denied responsibility for the leak of the document, saying it would take legal action against the newspaper.
“The club regrets its publication as it is a private document governed by the principle of confidentiality between the parties,” he said in a statement.
“FC Barcelona at all times 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.”
How did Messi react?
Messi did not immediately comment publicly on the report.
Barcelona have meanwhile expressed its “absolute support for Lionel Messi, especially in light of any attempt to discredit his image, and his relationship with the company where he worked to become the best player in the world and in football history, to damage. “
How controversial is it?
This is very controversial, because the leak comes at a time when Barcelona is trying to manage a huge debt that arose mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The club has a total debt of almost € 1.2 billion, of which € 730 million had to be repaid in the short term, by June 26 to various banks € 266 million.
The financial woes of Barcelona are such that the club is increasingly interested in setting up a European Super League, which you can read below by Going Deeper.
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