Just utter incompetence shown by Barca in recent years. Huge fee's plus fat wages on big names they didnt necessarily need, all the while their best ever player continually taking them to the cleaners.
Lionel Messi’s Obscene Contract
- Thread starter Port Vale Devil
- Start date
I seem to remember reading they had to change the flight paths of planes in Barcelona as Messi didnt want them flying over his house. Whether this is an urban myth or not I’m not sure?
If ypu want to have the best player of all time in your Team It will cost you a fortune but he will give you a lot in terms of money and in the pitch. He provided.
Let's be honest: Barca played their hand awfully years ago and could have leveraged Messi's name, their success and standing as well as the beauty of the city against talent coming in, but instead went the whole shebang and blew through millions upon millions of euros in the process.
Just pure incompetence or something more questionable going on behind the scenes... we'll not get to the bottom of that any time soon.
Griezmann deal is probably the dumbest sports decision in the past 10 years.
He's still arguarbly the best player in the world atm, but he's 34 now. I think it's fairly mental to blow a massive amount of their finances on Messi when he's only going to decline.
It was a tongue in cheek comment made by Vueling president when he said planes can't fly over Messi' house. He's right but not because it's Messi but because of environmental issues. Barcelona Airport is very close to a protected area. Planes leaving or entering have to detour out to sea before they can carry on their journey. Beautiful beaches there with a lot less people.
I have to agree. Griezmann, Dembele, Coutinho have been far worse deals than handing out the massive contract to Messi. He lived up to it, the others didn’t.
They're on huge wages, €324m to get off the bill, somehow!
Griezmann and his "the decision" video/PR stunt was a farcical stunt as well. Guy is full of himself, and seemed to be fairly close to Pogba, so I'm not surprised.
It's an absurd myth that players like Messi generate hundreds of millions of additional revenue. Real Madrid didn't drop any revenues after Ronaldo left. Their operating income in 16/17 was 675 million Euros. In 19/20 it was 715 million Euros. Did not drop a dime.
In the grand scheme of business someone like Messi is a nobody for big corporations. There are 1000 times bigger celebrities globally and outside of football that these corporations can chose to work with so there is no reason to pay a ransom for Messi's name.
Also most sponsorship deals that include Messi's name will inevitably flow into Messi's pockets and not Barca's anyway. He has kept all his naming rights from what I know. That's what Ronaldo was complaining about at Madrid because Madrid didn't allow that.
Barca sell only slightly more shirts than Liverpool or Juventus despite them not having Messi. It's not like Barca are selling additional millions of Messi shirts.
I'd be surprised if Messi realistically gained Barca even 10 million a year.
On the pitch he doesn't lead to anything either. 3rd place in the league and CL round of 16 exit with yet another humiliation. Not his fault obviously but it's like putting a band aid made of gold and diamonds on a chopped off arm which leaves no money for the necessary surgery.
In the grand scheme of business someone like Messi is a nobody for big corporations. There are 1000 times bigger celebrities globally and outside of football that these corporations can chose to work with so there is no reason to pay a ransom for Messi's name.
Also most sponsorship deals that include Messi's name will inevitably flow into Messi's pockets and not Barca's anyway. He has kept all his naming rights from what I know. That's what Ronaldo was complaining about at Madrid because Madrid didn't allow that.
Barca sell only slightly more shirts than Liverpool or Juventus despite them not having Messi. It's not like Barca are selling additional millions of Messi shirts.
I'd be surprised if Messi realistically gained Barca even 10 million a year.
On the pitch he doesn't lead to anything either. 3rd place in the league and CL round of 16 exit with yet another humiliation. Not his fault obviously but it's like putting a band aid made of gold and diamonds on a chopped off arm which leaves no money for the necessary surgery.
It is not about the shirt sales myth. It is about leaked documents that show that there are commercial contracts that state that Barca will receive x% less should Messi not be at the club.
It's not hard to see why clubs were pushing for the ESL - the wages at the top level are simply unsustainable.
To be perfectly honest. Barca should have let him go, I have no sympathy for them
Thank you. Tired of debating people on this issue. Messi's value to Barcelona is what he does on the pitch. Outside that, his value is marginal. Attributing the growth of Barca's revenue to Messi is plainly stupid. Correlation is not causation. Our (Man Utd) revenues are more than twice what they were when Messi made his debut...Just like almost every big club. Do we have Messi in our ranks? If Messi left this summer, Barca's revenues will be largely unchanged. Laporta can say what he wants. He has an agenda. He doesn't want to be the president that lost Messi and will spout any narrative that justifies giving into Messi's demands.
And you are right about Ronaldo's image rights. Madrid wouldn't countenance allowing Ronaldo having 100% control of his image rights and they couldn't agree on how much they were really worth. I am unsure of Messi's. I would be gobsmacked if Barca don't own Messi's image rights. If they didn't, the amount they were paying him becomes even more ridiculous.
hazard was worse
Ditto for Bale
Barca completely lost their marbles as a club the moment PSG triggered Neymar's 200 million release clause. They just didn't have a plan/clue in how to respond.
They've gone on sink so much money in big name players, who management/coaches are under pressure to shoehorn into some bizarre set-up/formation, that has totally unbalanced them and has thrown them into financial crisis.
Valverde did his best and the majority of Barca fans disliked him and the football that was being produced.
They've gone on sink so much money in big name players, who management/coaches are under pressure to shoehorn into some bizarre set-up/formation, that has totally unbalanced them and has thrown them into financial crisis.
Valverde did his best and the majority of Barca fans disliked him and the football that was being produced.
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I think this is true for the Spanish clubs that have wages to turnover margins of 70%. The English clubs are in very good shape.
But Hazard could have been a success if not for the injuries. Barca spent €100+m on one of the very few players who are incompatible with Messi. And not only that, they were already in a strained financial situation before that. Griezmann really was the climax to a bunch of Barca transfers that left you sxratching your head, IMO
I’d still take what Griezmann, coutinho and dembele have given than what hazard has given. I agree all of those transfers were poor but hazard was easily the worst combo of money spent and actual production
But, Hazard was definitely the best player of these four.
In hindsight, yes. But the failure of Griezmann and to an extent Dembele was foreseeable, Hazard's fall from grace less so.
But remember.... the ESL was for the good of football as a whole.
Nothing to do with being broke
Free agent, I don’t think he will sign a new deal with Barça
A club too scared to go on without their aging star, and a player too scared to go elsewhere to get the money he wants. A match made in heaven.
If you love the club, care about your teammates and understand the new rules of the competition you play in, sign the sizeable contract that is on the table. Be realistic after earning so well for so long.
Barcelona should be putting their foot down on a 34 year old player and giving him their best offer, take it or leave it.
He doesn’t want to go anywhere else and is taking the piss. Squad harmony out the window for all those who have been asked to take a paycut for him to stay.
Barcelona, you can’t afford it. La Liga doesn’t let you do it anymore. Say thanks for the 17 years of success and trophies and say goodbye. You are embarrassing yourselves.
If you love the club, care about your teammates and understand the new rules of the competition you play in, sign the sizeable contract that is on the table. Be realistic after earning so well for so long.
Barcelona should be putting their foot down on a 34 year old player and giving him their best offer, take it or leave it.
He doesn’t want to go anywhere else and is taking the piss. Squad harmony out the window for all those who have been asked to take a paycut for him to stay.
Barcelona, you can’t afford it. La Liga doesn’t let you do it anymore. Say thanks for the 17 years of success and trophies and say goodbye. You are embarrassing yourselves.
Frankly even though he's old and well past his prime, I'd like to see him at a PL club. Since we signed Sancho it's not going to be us and Sterling is doing pretty well at RW. At PSG they have Mbappe at RW. Not really sure where he could fit in at his age, so he's probably going to renew with Barca anyway.
So what happens if Barcelona cant meet messi financial demands according to la liga rules and messi doesnt want to go to PSG (who have made him a offer).
Can he still play for Barcelona next season while out of contract?
Can he still play for Barcelona next season while out of contract?
Remember when Messi was thought to be such a nice down to earth lad with Barcelona in his heart. and Ronaldo was thought to be the psychotic narcissistic? Hilarious now.
If Messi leaves and their revenue really drops by one third or whatever it is they expect, they are fecked. And apparently, this isn't some abstract calculation but based on very real and hands on contract clauses with their sponsors. If their numbers are correct, it is Messi who finances the high salaries of the other players, not vice versa.
But I'm sure they will find a solution. It's in the league's interest he stays, too.
He might apply for benefits
They will eventually need to survive without him anyway. They can renegotiate deals or use that mountain of cash to buy new stars! They are Barcelona, they certainly won’t want for sponsors or investors.
They need to be brave and move on because his wages, at his age, in their position, just aren’t feasible. It might need work to change their model and restructure the club, but clinging on to a 34 year old and offering him a crazy amount of money isn’t the way to go. They had big players before Messi and will have big players after him.
You would think he might understand that at his age, but his attitude stinks. I am all for players getting what they deserve, but at this point, he should just move on if he only cares about the money and make the decision for the club.
sure, but once that contract was signed he was an absolute disaster. If we had Liverpool’s coutinho or Madrid got Chelsea’s hazard both clubs would be happy. Far from the reality
how so? Barca offered him the deal, not the other way around. Ronaldo is a hundred times more narcissistic than Messi. Ronaldo left madrid because he felt he wasn’t paid enough
To be fair, Ronaldo has a case. No way should Ronaldo earning less than half of what Messi does. He still earns less than half but credit to Madrid for drawing a line. Something mes que in club seem incapable of doing.
I’ve never seen a club bend over and take it like this for any player.
It’s a proper embarrassment. How he can hold his head up when he returns to the club when the management have been trying to terminate contracts and reduce wages for all his teammates just so golden boy can swagger about still is shocking, only word for it.
Look at the money they have thrown at Messi the last five years, they could have built a brilliant team, that’s not allowing for the money they have wasted on shite players on top of that Messi money.
It’s a proper embarrassment. How he can hold his head up when he returns to the club when the management have been trying to terminate contracts and reduce wages for all his teammates just so golden boy can swagger about still is shocking, only word for it.
Look at the money they have thrown at Messi the last five years, they could have built a brilliant team, that’s not allowing for the money they have wasted on shite players on top of that Messi money.
My mother would have given me the last pound in her purse, the difference is that I would never have asked for it, less taken it.
So you're admitting he's no better. The only difference is Barca are a spineless bunch of pussies who bend over for Messi whereas for all his faults Perez, isn't a pussy
They should have let him go to City last season when he wanted to leave. This summer they’ve dug themselves into a hole the likes of which I’ve never seen in my time as a football fan.