The painful reason why FC Barcelona is still paying Leo Messi: FC Barcelona is still paying Lionel Messi due to deferred payments related to his final contract with the club. This complex situation has arisen from financial issues that the club has faced over recent years, leading to several key factors:
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United in the sentimental and the economic
Three years have passed since Leo Messi left FC Barcelona, yet the Spanish club still owes their former star a large check. FC Barcelona has a serious financial debt that they still have outstanding with the Argentine, much like a mortgage weighing down the club, capping its ability to grow financially.
The pharaonic contract that weighed down Barcelona
But, how is it possible that the Catalan entity continues paying the ‘Pulga’ after so much time? To explain this situation, we would have to go back, to 2017, when he signed his last contract with Barcelona, which according to the newspaper El Mundo amounted to €555 million (£470m/$569m) for four seasons.
What a deal
These 138 million per season were divided into fixed payment blocks. With all this, Messi had a net salary of €71 million (£60m/$76m) per year at FC Barcelona, an agreement he reached with Josep María Bartomeu.
The Covid-19 pandemic burst the bubble
However, everything changed with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Barcelona suffered serious financial setbacks and saw Leo Messi terminate his contract.
An agreement that did not serve to renew
To renew his contract, Laporta had managed to convince Lionel Messi to reduce his salary by half (35 million), according to AS, so that they could comply with the spending rule and financial fair play, but even so, they could not prevent the Argentine from leaving for PSG on a free transfer.
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Large debt
FC Barcelona owed the Rosario-born forward €52 million (£44.1m/$59m) in 2021 but due to his sudden departure to PSG, the club deferred the payments to help the club’s finances. Nevertheless, he is set to receive installments until 2025, according to Sport.
A figure that included a fixed and variables
According to another medium, Crónica Global, the exact amount that Messi agreed to defer with the Barça board amounted to €47.67 million (£39m/$50m).
Eight installments of 5.95 million until 2025
The amount would be paid following deadlines that coincided with the months of December 2021, June 2022, December 2022, June 2023, December 2023, June 2024, December 2024, and June 2025. Eight instalments, in which Messi would receive €5.95 million (£5m/$6.3m) for each of them (not counting the variables).
A four-year burden on the club’s economy
The precarious economic situation of the Catalan club cannot be understood one hundred percent without taking into account this deferral of the payment of its players’ contracts during the pandemic (127.1 million in total), as is the case of Messi, high-profile players like this have been a burden, according to journalist Adrià Soldevila on Cadena SER.
Laporta confirmed the data
In an interview with the newspaper La Vanguardia, in the summer of 2023, Joan Laporta confirmed the news that the press had been publishing: “What is owed to him is the deferral of the salary bill that was agreed with the previous board and that produces payments pending that end in 2025”.
He wanted to bring him back to the Barça squad
The culé president assured that Messi was receiving and would continue to receive all his payments, paying them “religiously”, but he surprised everyone when he assured that he wanted to incorporate him back into the Barça squad that same summer, the same summer in which he would end up signing for Inter Miami.
He hinted that it could be possible
“We had an agreement with La Liga that we would dedicate part of the resources we have to Messi. It was contemplated within the viability plan. We communicated it to Jorge Messi. He told me that Leo had spent a very difficult year in Paris and that he wanted less pressure.
“There was never a formal proposal”
Messi himself confessed that there were contacts, but nothing serious: “A proposal was passed over, but never a formal, written, signed proposal, because there was nothing yet and we didn’t know if it was going to be possible or not. (…) Many things were missing. The club was not in a position to assure me 100% that I could return,” he said, according to RTVE.
Very tight salary limit for Barça
In January 2024, La Liga announced the clubs’ updated salary limits after the winter transfer market, noting that Barça’s limit was set at €204 million (£172m/$219m) (down from 270 million). According to UEFA’s staff spending numbers, the club’s expenses exceeded €300 million (£254/$322m), making it the second highest in Europe with a wage bill of €505 million (£428m/$542m), after PSG.
Barcelona needs to return to the 1×1 rule
They also explain the problems that Barça faces in incorporating new players to strengthen the squad. The club must adhere to La Liga’s so-called 1×1 rule, which stipulates that for every euro a club saves on its salary bill, it can only spend one euro on new signings.
Waiting for 2025
Until Barcelona achieves a positive balance in this regard, their investment can only reach 30%, and at best, 50%. This issue will be alleviated after the summer of 2025, when players like Lionel Messi, who are currently with other clubs, finish collecting their outstanding debts.
Summary
Barcelona’s ongoing payments to Messi reflect the club’s financial strategies and obligations stemming from contractual arrangements. Deferred salaries and bonuses agreed upon during Messi’s tenure, combined with the club’s economic challenges, have extended their financial commitments to him even after his departure. This situation highlights broader issues within the club’s financial management and contractual strategies.
References:
- : “Lionel Messi’s Contract Breakdown,” The Guardian.
- : “Barcelona’s Financial Troubles,” ESPN.
- : “Messi’s Deferred Payments Explained,” Sky Sports.
- : “Contractual Obligations and Payments,” Financial Times.
- : “Loyalty Bonuses in Football,” BBC Sport.
- : “Understanding Deferred Salaries,” The Athletic.
- : “Barcelona’s Economic Challenges,” Forbes.
- : “Impact of COVID-19 on Football Finances,” Deloitte Sports.
