After several months of speculation over his future, five times FIFA World Best Player of the Year Winner, Lionel Messi has finally agreed to sign a new contract with the Spanish giant, Barcelona.
According to reports, Lionel Messi has agreed to sign a new contract with Barcelona, following his previous one expired at the end of June. Lionel Messi’s new contract with Barcelona means that he had agreed to a 50 percent wage cut.
This means that Messi contract where he earned around €550 million (£468m/$650m) over the course of his last five-year contract at Barcelona, which equates to around €75m (£64m/$89m) per season, will now be earning €275 million (£234m/$325m), which equates €37.5m (£32m/$44.5m) in the course of his new contract.
Following his contract expiration weeks ago, he has been on a free transfer, and it has been reported that the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, and Inter have all shown an interest in signing the Argentina international.
La Liga president Javier Tebas has warned Barca they will not be allowed to register Messi’s new deal if they are unable to reduce spending to comply with the league’s Financial Fair Play rules. Barca’s spending limit has been reduced from over €600m to €347m since the coronavirus pandemic, with further reductions expected to be imposed for the upcoming season.
Therefore, to register Messi’s new deal, in addition to new signings Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay, Eric Garcia, and Emerson Royal, Barca need to continue reducing the wage bill and moving players on. With that in mind, sources at the club refuse to rule out the departure of Antoine Griezmann, a €120m signing in 2019.
Lionel Messi is taking a 50% wage cut to stay at Barcelona. He's set to sign a new five-year contract later this month. (Source: GOAL) pic.twitter.com/haxv6K0EHz
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) July 14, 2021
https://twitter.com/ReshadRahman_/status/1415314211098464256?s=19
Lionel Messi will stay at Barcelona, it’s never been in doubt and gonna be announced soon. 🔵🔴 #FCB
PSG never had any real chance this summer. NO talks. Only Barça for Leo. ❌
New contract will be until June 2026 instead of 2023 to help the club – as @ferrancorreas reported.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 14, 2021