Who cares really if he plays in the MLS at 36. Barca wont get anywhere near the CL for a while anyway. Id be surprised if they make a title challenge.
Lionel Messi’s Obscene Contract
- Thread starter Port Vale Devil
- Start date
This is the key right there. Any club will struggle when their best scoring and creating player leaves but often others improve their own number, to a sufficient level ? That's the question but for sure nothing would stay constant, it's clearly misleading people.
The notion Messi is singularly responsible for 31% of Barca's revenue is so asinine. It is a scandal so many people believe it. It is simply a political spin to justify what is essentially a ridiculous salary.
50% pay cut is huge
I mean it isn't when you actually look at the details.
Yeah playing a full season with 10 men would really affect a team's performance.
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To be fair to Barca, they do seem to be in a lose lose situation. And I also think they tried to account for a Messi-less Barca in recent years by splashing the cash on current and upcoming star names like Coutinho, Dembele and Griezmann, and through a mixture of poor scouting and also bad luck (and maybe the Messi effect) none on them have been able to share the mantle and they would've been better off without bothering to try. So now they are millions worse off and can't really afford to let Messi go a free in order to save face and their prospects for the upcoming season (arguably they should have done this 1 or 2 summers ago and gained lots of millions).
So it's either let him go and be ridiculed or sign him up as they have and be ridiculed. The only thing that wouldn't have left them with egg on their face would be if he signed a 2/3 year deal without all these shady add ons.
So it's either let him go and be ridiculed or sign him up as they have and be ridiculed. The only thing that wouldn't have left them with egg on their face would be if he signed a 2/3 year deal without all these shady add ons.
Contract termination bonus. 
A "contract termination bonus"?!
Unbelievable Jeff.
Years from now, Unis will be doing courses on Barca and their desperate, ridiculous decision to do anything to keep Messi.
5 years with a break option after 2? It's a football contract not a commercial lease!
Only in a leap year.
Pay cut? I don’t see much of a pay cut, clever accounting is what I see
Funny, not too long ago Messi wanted out because the team wasn't competitive enough anymore. Now he signs a contract that ensures, that Barca won't have a competitive team for at least the next 3 seasons because he is blocking a huge porition of their wage budget, despite the wage cut.
Hope Tebas can see through the bullshit.
He's a goat...IN SPACE!!!
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This sounds like absolute madness from Barca.
Once again, the relationship between Messi and Barcelona should be looked at through the lens of organized religion and prophet, rather than football player and club
prophet and a cult
Yeah that's it
Destined to decline together
Mate, your article links to that Marc Circa frankly ridiculous analysis brought on by @Iker Quesadillas. I think it's simply ridiculous. Do you trust such article?
Overall, do you really believe that a company will crumble because a superstar leaves them? No matter what the field, you will learn that you are not that much in the big picture.
Really, it's the reality of this world and the work place.
Messi will leave and there is no way Barcelona will lose 31% of the revenue just because of that. They may, but it's because they have destroyed the club finances through crazy decisions.
I mean, I don't really care about Barcelona. No hard feelings about those finals to be fair, I even forgot them. I just don't understand some decisions but well, if they think it will save them...
I actually don't think Barca will crumble because Messi leaves them, however, I do think the majority of people think that Messi's contract is the main reason Barca are in the situation they are in. It's actually not hard to believe that having Messi contributes a significant amount of revenue to Barcelona, what with the higher rate they can charge on sponsorships, more attendance and also 8 out of 10 shirts sold have Messi's name on the back. My point was on the grand scheme of things Messi's contract is not that big of a loss as people make it out to be. The reasons Barca are in this mess are plenty but keeping Messi and paying Messi that contract is not one of them. Bad signings, covid and a horrible wage structure (barring Messi's) contributed a lot more to the current situation.
I mean if Coutinho was at United with the same wage he'd be the highest paid player, they also paid 100 odd million for him. All that for someone who had 14 appearances last season. Yet, Messi seems to get all the blame here and players like Coutinho, Umtiti, Dembele and Griezmann get a free pass. Problem with Barcelona are all the terrible signings and having fringe players on 300k to 700k a week.
Nobody has given a free pass to any of those players.
Let him walk (if the assertion is that he's not that important) and bring the army out it's not that serious honestly
We already know how losing Ronaldo affected Real Madrid's overall level, and he wasn't doing as many things as Messi does for us, so letting Messi leave for free (not even those 100M) without anyone to take over his role is a bad idea.
What I don't understand is how everyone keeps saying Barcelona are bending over for Leo, maybe Bartomeu in his last contract since he basically had to negotiate with a player that hated this guts, but anything we offer to Leo, he can probably get on other club, maybe even more, we're just paying the biggest wages in the world to the best player in the world, it's not like we're operating galaxies beyond general market rules.
What I don't understand is how everyone keeps saying Barcelona are bending over for Leo, maybe Bartomeu in his last contract since he basically had to negotiate with a player that hated this guts, but anything we offer to Leo, he can probably get on other club, maybe even more, we're just paying the biggest wages in the world to the best player in the world, it's not like we're operating galaxies beyond general market rules.
RM won the league last season, were 2 pts behind 1st this season, and made it to the CL semis. They've done OK given that it's been the worst case scenario: spend all the Ronaldo money and wages on players who've contributed almost nothing.
You are easily paying him 2x as much as he’d get anywhere else.
No one knows to be honest how much he can get from PSG and Man City. Given how much money Neymar and Mbappe are on right now, I doubt you are right, especially when it is a free transfer.
This Barca situation has messy written all over it
Great news, on the previous page you agreed with someone that claimed Messi is responsible for 31% of Barcelonas revenues.
Messi can terminate his contract after two seasons and the total costs for Barcelona would be close to £170mill.
It's 60% of Manchester Uniteds annual wage bill.
93,9% of Tottenhams annual wage bill.
Beyond stupidity
Cooking those books beyond recognition. Depay going in on 12 EUR an hour.
Why did Barcelona refuse to sell Messi last summer when he publicly stated that he wanted out, and he had offers from Paris and City? Why were Barcelona willing to go to court against Messi (publicly stated too) to make him stay?
If someone is offering 100M+ for supposedly a player that has taken your club as hostage and is on unaffordable wages, wouldnt you sell him?
Just gotta think logically. No point arguing about percentages or about hyphoteticals, we cant know for sure how much he would earn at City/Paris, how much these clubs would make for having him, how much barca makes, etc. The only fact we know is that Barcelona doesnt want to let him go, for free or for a huge transfer fee, doesnt matter, he isnt going anywhere. Would you care explaining why's that?
Exactly, they prefer to pay £170M to let him go.
Because apparently there are some posters on the caf, masters at sarcasm, economists, financial consultants, chairmen and more privy to the behind the scenes going on at Barcelona than the people involved.
I have no idea how the spanish league works in detail. But could it happen, that this termination fee is considered part of Barcas wage bill for that season when the contract ends, and therefore count for the limit they have in place? Would mean a quite horrific season for them, if they would have to lower their wage bill accordingly.
Exactly, Barca never made a dodgy financial decision in their history before.
That's why they're in such excellent shape now
Apparently so. In my opinion you dont need much more than a bit of common sense to understand the situation but hey, you wouldnt have many conversations and debates nowadays if everyone had common sense.
I'm more curious as to how Messi leaving would affect overall La Liga viewership.
I can see Barca (and others) being worried about the numbers all across the board dropping even further due to the departure of another GOAT player.
I can see Barca (and others) being worried about the numbers all across the board dropping even further due to the departure of another GOAT player.
nope, psg and city would comfortably beat His new Barca contract