With his contract at 555 million, Lionel Messi responsible for the ruin of Barça?

“555,237,619 euros”.

It is by this amount, wanted almost to the nearest cent, that the Spanish daily El Mundo made its front page this Sunday.

A sum pointing the finger at the "pharaonic contract" of Lionel Messi in Barcelona.

The newspaper reveals in great detail the figures for the Argentine striker's contract extension in 2017 - for a period of four years - with the Blaugrana club.

An extension that would have allowed the Argentinian to touch 555,237,619 euros in total, or about 138 million euros per season.

Even if the breakdown is not exactly this ...

Indeed, the agreement included a signing bonus, colossal, of 115 million euros and another of "loyalty" of 78 million euros.

Which means that over the 2017-2018 season, the Argentinian would have received nearly 250 million euros.

Messi's fixed salary would be "only" 61 million euros per season, to which should be added his image rights, estimated at 11 million euros per season, plus bonuses for result.

Winning La Liga and reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League in the 2018-2019 financial year, for example, brought him the trifle of 3.8 million euros.

This contract is qualified by El Mundo as the biggest in the history of sport at a time when the Catalan club is going through a serious financial crisis.

On January 12, the daily La Vanguardia assured that the Spanish club had accumulated nearly a billion in debts and had to repay 420 million before the end of 2021.

Las cifras del CONTRATO DE MESSI que publica El Mundo, al DETALLE.

Mucho MÁS, este DOMINGO in #ElChiringuitoDeMega in las 12 de la noche.

pic.twitter.com/zILIaLAgiT

- El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) January 30, 2021

Suffice to say that we should not look any further for the reasons for Barça's discretion in the transfer market last summer, the Catalan leaders not even managing to secure the signing of Lyonnais Memphis Depay.

Obviously, by clearly presenting Messi as the main culprit for Barça's financial woes, El Mundo - voluntarily or involuntarily - only accentuates the final break between the player and his club forever.

Especially since these revelations do not take into account what number 10 reports to Barça, just as they omit other transfers (Griezmann, De Jong ...), very expensive, made since.

It remains to be seen, from now on, what will be the reaction of the Pulga to this one with the cleverly orchestrated buzz….  

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