For the first time, the Argentinian God is on the headlines not because of his heroics on the pitch but his war with a board that is neck-deep in a period of uncertainty. One of the greatest players on the planet, Lionel Messi is in the pole position to leave the club that he decorated for over 17 years.
Messi is indescribable, to say the least. His magic, his goals, his moments are engraved into the fans’ minds for eternity. The fact that the La Masia graduate has scored 634 goals shows the loyalty that he carried for FC Barcelona over the years. But it seems now that his one-club trait is diminishing due to internal rifts.
This has prompted his exit from the club which was once considered impossible. But the questions remain that if the 33-year-old megastar moves away from his beloved club, where will he land next? Not only the high-profile transfer will look extremely difficult to materialize due to the out-of-the-world exit clause that he has in his contract but also the hefty wages he enjoys at the club.
Messi’s legacy is not only constricted to the journey that he took to be one of the footballing best but also the earnings he received over the years. We are about to discuss in this piece the elaborate figures that he counted at Barcelona since joining in 2004, to make him one of the highest-paid athletes in the world.
$10 million (2007)
Lionel Messi signed his first professional contract at the Catalonian giants on 4th February 2004. He made his first-team debut nine months later and took the world by storm. But he got a real taste of earning money at the age of 16. Barcelona quickly tied down the incredible talent until 2010 after giving him a wage rise to $10million in 2007. This was the start of a lucrative earning he will eventually receive in the future.
$20 million (2010)
In the year 2009, Messi penned a massive seven-year deal with the club keeping him until 2016. He got a pay rise of $20 million. At that time Messi has established himself to be one of the greatest players in the club’s history. His release clause got a significant boost to 250 million in euros. The Argentinian won his first Champions League trophy in this period.
$21.2 million (2012)
Messi signed a series of contracts with the club giving him a significant boost of more years in his playing career at Barcelona. The deal ran until 2018 that helped him earn 16 million Euros a year. This is the first time the contract included a $20 million bonus and a further $19 million in an endorsement. It all happened because Messi played most of the matches in the season’s Champions League.
$67.4 million (2014)
He improved his wage bill a couple of years later after indicating his first gulf with the club following a trophy-less campaign under manager, Tata Martino. The problem persisted while Luis Enrique was at the helm but with then club captain Xavi’s help, everything was resolved. Anyways, he enjoyed a fruitful pay rise. Messi received a total of $80 million in 2017 before he extended his stay in July of that month.
$ 127 million (2020)
Messi hit a staggering triple-figure on his earnings, $111 million in 2018. Since then he has reached $127 million a figure at the peak in this year on his wage bill. Currently, he receives a $72 million winning bonus along with a $32 million endorsement fee. Whether it’s Manchester City or PSG, they have to break the bank to make Messi comfortable at his new place amidst the ongoing pandemic situation, indicated by these numbers.
