As Barcelona is near to announcing Lionel Messi’s renewal contract, there are some details about it which are trotting the footballing world. The club will only break the news after lawyers have officially gone through the terms and found it legit.
It has been a while since there has been excessive scrutiny over Messi’s future. He even went on to become a free agent for the first time after 2000. While parts of his contract were difficult to swallow and thus took time, others were agreed upon in a matter of seconds. Let’s have a look at what we know as of now!
A huge salary reduction
As with most players wearing the Blaugrana colours, Messi too will earn half of the salary his previous contract offered him. This was one of the terms that Messi agreed to at the drop of a hat. He never really cared much about the monetary part of the deal. His main concern has for long remained to build a strong team that competes at the topmost levels. The money freed from his salary might be used on the same.
How many more years at the Camp Nou?
After a lot of speculations, Messi finally agreed to renew for 5 years. This sees him at the club till he is 39! It will now lie on Messi’s discretion if he stays at the club till his contract ends or considers a move to the MLS after 2 seasons.
The taxation worries
An unnegotiable clause for Messi, Barcelona had to work really hard along with tax authorities to make sure that all payments agreed on were above board and legal. It wasn’t until a legal green light that the player accepted.
The impact of sponsors
Joan Laporta was eyeing for more sporting reasons when he said he’ll sign Messi as soon as possible. This was because several sponsors were waiting for the Argentine’s renewal. Having the best player in the world by your side has a lot of financial benefits. Barcelona has been cashing in on this for years and similarly many major companies were waiting for the contract to be signed. This even included a major sponsor for the club, Rakuten.
Deferred payments
Messi has been owed as much as 80 million euros by the club. These are either defaults or deferred payments from previous seasons. This was a huge sum and thus a lot of issues had to be fixed by officials, lawyers, and the taxation office.
A new and stronger Sporting Project
This was the biggest concern of all. Messi was only going to stay in Barcelona if a stronger sporting project was proposed. This required a competitive team that was able to fight for trophies. He’s aware of how the current financial situation affects the sporting side of things. But when smart moves were made by Laporta to sign players like Eric Garcia, Memphis Depay, and Sergio Aguero, he became hopeful.
