It's a deal made: freelance star Lionel Messi has joined French club Paris Saint-Germain in a summer move to Europe.
According to reports, Messi's two-year contract with PSG offered him a total annual salary of $ 41 million, including bonuses. The contract also considers the third-year option.
In addition, The Athletic is taking a nearby $ 30-million signing fee. At the same time, Forbes reports that the player will also receive a cut in player photo rights, including purchasing a jersey, which could cover his annual salary of up to $ 75 million.
That is a big deal for any player, let alone a 34-year-old striker. PSG will hear that the money will be well spent if Messi takes the club to the promised land: the first UEFA Champions League trophy.
Messi has won the Champions League trophy four times in solid competitions with FC Barcelona, the last one returning in 2015. Meanwhile, PSG has been knocking on the door for several years with a trip to the finals in 2020 (defeats against Bayern Munich) and advancing to the tournament last year (excluding Manchester City).
Barcelona has not been able to retain the greatest player in their club's history, and certainly not with those goals. With huge debts involving the Spanish club, and the need to reduce player salaries, Barcelona announced on August 5 that they had concluded negotiations with Messi, who became free manager when his contract with Barcelona expired on June 30.
Barcelona has not been able to keep Messi even if the Argentine star has agreed to a 50 percent reduction in his salary to stay with the only team known as the champion.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta later revealed that adding Messi's contract would mean that players' salaries would represent 110 percent of club earnings, with league rules requiring that figure to be 70 percent.
What was Messi's salary in Barcelona?
That PSG fee is a chump change compared to what Messi did in his last contract with Barcelona.
Messi had a lucrative contract in sports history based on a report in the Spanish daily El Mundo newspaper, which published Messi's contract with Barcelona after a 30-page contract was announced in the area in January 2021.
Signed in 2017, the agreement was valued at more than $ 650 million over four years of age if the various conditions were met. According to the report, it gave Messi a basic salary of $ 161 million, a total of $ 135 million to sign, and a total of $ 91 million and loyalty.
Given those terms and the star fees paid to other players, it is not surprising that FC Barcelona is bound by debts to roam the $ 1 billion range. That Barcelona contract expired on June 30, 2021, making Messi a free agent and planning to spend free money in Paris Saint-Germain.
How Much Did Cristiano Ronaldo Make?
Ronaldo's annual drag on Juventus has been slightly below what Messi will be doing for PSG.
The Portuguese superstar was acquired by Juventus for a $ 123 million transfer fee from the Spanish club Real Madrid. He then signed a four-year contract with an Italian club, offering him an estimated 35 million salaries a year for the Italian club. That contract will expire in June 2022.
Similar to PSG's acquisition of Messi, Ronaldo was also brought in to help Juventus win the UEFA Champions League, but that did not happen as they entered the final year of their four-year tenure.
They have never played in the semi-finals against Ronaldo, losing to second-placed rivals: Ajax (quarterfinals), Lyon (Round of 16), and Porto (Round of 16).
PSG will be hoping they won't suffer the same. Messi will be joined by more star players than Ronaldo at Juventus: Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Sergio Ramos, and Gigi Donnarumma, to name a few.
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