After months of uncertainty over his future, the six-time Ballon d’Or winner is expected to sign new terms at Camp Nou.
Goal can reveal that Lionel Messi will sign a new five-year contract with Barcelona and will take a 50% pay cut. Messi has spent his whole career at Barcelona, having made his debut as a teenager in 2004, but was released at the start of July after his contract expired.
The Argentine will not be taking on a new challenge away from Camp Nou anytime soon, as the Blaugrana are ready to announce that the six-time Ballon d’Or winner has signed a new long-term contract with the club.
- More about the football club: Barcelona
- Also see: Copa America: Argentina beats Brazil, Messi wins his 1st major title
Barca’s re-signing of Messi begs the question: how did they do it?
Over the course of his previous five-year deal at Camp Nou, Messi earned a stunning €550 million (£468 million/$650 million), which corresponds to about €75 million (£64 million/$89 million) every season. After breaching La Liga’s wage cap at the end of the 2020-21 season, Barca were unable to offer the 34-year-old similar hefty renewal conditions.
Junior Firpo, Jean-Clair Todibo, Carles Alena, and Juan Miranda were all sold to raise finances after league president Javier Tebas warned that the Blaugrana could not legally register Messi without dramatically cutting their payroll expenditures. Messi has also agreed to cut his yearly earnings in half in order to re-sign with Barcelona, and Goal has gathered that his new contract will be announced in the coming weeks after a few minor details are ironed out.
Were there any other offers on the table for Messi?
After his previous contract expired, Messi became a free agent, and it has been rumored that Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, and Inter Milan have all expressed interest in signing the Argentina international. A return to boyhood club Newell’s Old Boys has also been discussed, as has a probable move to the MLS with David Beckham’s Inter Miami.
Messi reportedly received numerous formal offers, including one from PSG, but he ultimately chose to remain a one-club man and play for Barcelona until 2026, when he will be 39 years old.
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