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Many accused Neymar of being greedy, many accused Mbappe of being greedy (quite rightly), but it looks like we have a champion: Messi.
What do you think of these numbers? This is absolutely Saudi Arabian level of payments and no adequate European club with non-corrupt management would ever sign such a contract.
Against the backdrop of these payments, Messi's tales of loyalty to the club look like a joke. He actually destroyed Barcelona, ​​which fell into a financial crisis (by the way, they still pay him) and currently lost Olmo due to financial problems.

I wont call it greedy. Once you know worth then keep your value to be at the top range. Messi is the best player in the world am not surprised he requested such amount from Barcelona.

You can agree with me that Messi made a great impact to the club, won trophies including the UCL, local league and other trophies to the club. He was part of the team that Barcelona the most deadly team in the world years back. Is'nt he worth the money?

He is one of the best players in history of this sport and he deserved this. Barcelona i think even profited of the field with him aswell. Everybody wanted to get a Messi jersey everyone wanted to see him play so i think even with this large contract they profited a lot. Because everything was around him

Very difficult to be on a side.

When we see this numebrs we clearly think ahead only one thing and is a greedy and a non sense ammount of money, but when you start to see it more and more in detail, maybe its not that bad considering he is the best player in football history (for a lot of people) and how much Barcelona worth and profit for having him?

Only in merch it can be thousands off dollars, players who wants to play with him and for that comes to Barcelona, etc. Thanks to him Barcelona starts to fight for real against Real Madrid, and Barcelona started to be a real contender in eveyr UCL. Look at them now..... back again in his normal track since his departure they are the same shit as they were always, a wannabe club with  good years but not a real treat.

A fantastic figure for Barcelona to spend this much money on Lionel Messi.

Messi at Barcelona did everything he deserved because this player is considered a miracle in football, he has contributed a lot to the club even won many trophies including awards to him, club benefits? Obviously...

But after losing Messi does this club not get big funding anymore?

I don't know... now Barcelona's financial crisis is starting to show after Dani Olmo couldn't be signed up.

Messi didn't force Barcelona in this contracts, Barcelona and Messi camp had an agreement before any contract was signed. Messi brought so much money to the club, so it's only natural for him to earn that amount of money. If Barcelona management at that time thinks that the money that they proposed to Messi before he accepted the contract was too much for them to handle, they wouldn't have come up with such contract proposals. Let me ask you, if you were Lionel Messi and your club presented you such a lucrative contract will you reject it? Barcelona wanted to keep Messi at all cost and Messi accepted and did his job professionally throughout his stay at Barcelona.There is no need blaming Messi for Barcelona financially woes.

Barcelona wouldn't accept to him such amount if there were no profits from him, to me Leo Messi actually deserve such amount and provided Barcelona is okay with the which he's changing then I wouldn't see it as someone who is wrecking the club. If they can't accept to pay him such amount they will categorically voice out and sign up another more players.
The offer was based on agreement between both parties and there's nothing wrong with what they pays him.

New champion? This is from 2021 and everyone knew this, besides , Barca was still in profit:
https://everythingbarca.com/2021/02/05/lionel-messi-generates-barcelona/


Let's not compare him with Neymar, that guy was money pit, he didn't bring back even one-quarter of the sum they spent on him

It's slightly unfair to try to make Messi the sole cause of Barcelona's financial crisis. There are lot of factors, mostly at the top management level which has led the club to the position it is at now.

To the numbers he is being paid when you look at the number he provides on yhebpicth which resulted in lots of success for the coub and also his numbers on merchandise, you'll see he's worth every penny he was getting paid.

It's important to note that Fabrizio only highlighted the contract for the last 4 years, he played 13 years at the club.

Both parties benefit and I think the loss that Barcelona is currently experiencing is not about paying players a large amount, because both parties already have an agreement.
Messi is a professional star player and when he is offered to join a team, it means that the team already knows that the salary that must be paid is very large. And if the team agrees, it means that Barcelona is able to accept the risk.
So this loss should be questioned to the management who fully manages Barcelona's finances, not blaming the players.

Not sure why thisstuffstarted to spread now as it was already published maybe 4 yearsago. And I completely disagree with opinion that Messi destroyed Barca. No, he didn't. Messi earned every euro that he got paid and he was worth it. He is best player in club's history who won so many trophies for club.
Terrible management and failed huge transfers is what ruined club. Starting with transfers worth over 100 millions like Coutinho or Dembele. Griezmann can be called as failure too. Butthere is some other big transfers which also affected Barca debt into negative side - Semedo, Pjanic, or Malcom.

Personally, I don't know Messi, but according to what I see in the comments of other people here, he is a famous person in sports if I'm not mistaken. Because he probably wouldn't have been offered such a large amount if he didn't deserve such a talent fee.

Barcelona may have believed in Messi that's why they gave him that contract, and I also think Messi did everything for what Barcelona expected of him even though the result was not good.
Then another thing is that Barcelona gave Messi such an amount of money and Messi just accepted it as a trust in him as his talent fee and popularity that he also has,
what do you think?

We cant blame anyone for this, if you think you worth a particular amount of value, then try to place a demand on your worth and if the people can afford it, they will give a patronage on you, don't blame Messi the same way you cant blame other players, everyone of them has their own hierarchy and once they have gotten to the peak, there is nothing to do to add up to it, maybe we are also forgetting how money is being involved in football, there are many we don't even hear about their worth or value they are being paid.

Messi’s contribution to the world of football is undeniably significant. This simply shows misplaced priorities at a systemic level rather than being solely Messi’s fault. I think the financial collapse of Barcelona and its impact on the club’s transfer policy due to poor financial management.

Do you think the financial collapse could have been avoided if the balance between honoring the club’s legends and maintaining its economic stability had been managed better? Or was this truly inevitable given the nature of football economics?

He destroyed Barcelona? You never said Messi held Laporta in a gun point to sign the contract. If Messi is been paid a billion a year, he is worth every penny of it because he was delivering everything they need, it's pay to get what you wanted and contract was sealed. When they knew they couldn't cope with such a big offer, they would have juts humbly declined the offer and said no but obviously, there is more they were getting that's why they sealed the deal.

If you want a quality job, you definitely need to make payment in order to get good work, that's all I see in this deal. People can speculate all they want but nothing bad here. Beside, Barcelona was scared another club would have borrowed money to get him and it's going to be at their disadvantage seeing Messi in his prime and where is the lie, when was the last time they finish any league when Messi used to be around, they are struggling every day till now in that club, stop blaming Messi.

Messi can help Barcelona to gets plenty of trophies and one of those trophies is Champion League trophy and since Messi leave Barcelona never able to lift this trophy again so this proven Messi contribution to Barcelona is very huge so he deserved to gets the contract with fantastic amount of money and i think Barcelona financial crisis is not Messi fault because in the past Barcelona president Joan Laporta has a habit that he always spend huge money to buy players and giving high salaries not just to Messi so long term effect from this habit is Barcelona has facing financial crisis which until now this problem is still unsolved

He worth it imo, for them to have signed such contract , it means they really want him to stay in the club, Laporta wasn't forced to renew  it anyways  ...
Moreover, if they are not willing to sign it, do you really think another club won't sign it... I mean look at him , over his stay he won alot of trophies plus  six Balon D'or  under the name of the club , giving them extra achievement as a club . And he did keep to the very last  agreement , he was very loyal to the club until they couldn't keep him any longer yet he's still loyal to some extent.
Does that make him a club destroyer??

The main question is, does the club afford to pay that much to him? If yes, then I don't see a problem here. As long as they are getting one of the top players in the world back into the club, they are okay with the price they have to pay because they know it's worth it. They have seen that the club hasn't been the same since he left, so they had to get him back somehow.

We don't know what happens on the inside, but a player of his caliber surely deserves an amount like that. These clubs earn a lot of money from multiple sources, and they wouldn't make a decision like this if they felt it was too excessive and can cause them financial problems.

There is nothing strange. We have seen such crazy salary since 90'. Mostly this will be just "debt" for the club ::)

I think that here you can see also another key... how FIAT money is losing constantly value.
Items that have a real value and can help on achieve a profit (like a famous football player or stocks) are just gaining more and more value in FIAT terms.

Well I guess Barcelona wouldn't call it a bad deal
Because they benefited alot from his prowess and fame
Even down on getting players to play in the club because Messi was there.
Yes the amount is astronomical in LA Liga level but we can't dispute the fact that he's one of the Best players in History.
And such players that exhibit such consistency are undeniable assets in a club.

This is a truth we all know,  he did deserve the pay no doubt but the issue here is from the fact that majority sees Messi has someone who was loyal to Barcelona not for the money rather just for love but with this kind of payment it is clear that his loyalty was also influenced by money and I guess this was among the main reason Joan Laporta did find a way of making him leave the team.

It's not surprising to see the fact, because Lionel Messi is not as loyal as the media said. Instead of giving joy to the fans & the team as a whole, he even gave misery there because of the big expenses that Barcelona spent on him. Now Barcelona is getting worse with other cases. Of course, maybe this will affect their performance in the league, we'll see whether Barcelona can become the league champion this season or not.

It's always funny how people talk about stuff like this. Do you really believe this is what made Barcelona go into the financial mess they're in right now? He has left the club since 2021 and yet they're still in a mess, so how do you explain that?
Have you seen the contract given to the Barcelona players by the former administration? Players like Lenglet and Umtiti where receiving close to 300k net salary, which means their gross salary where over 400k. You can see Frenkie De Jong is currently the highest-paid player in Barcelona and he is the only player that has a contract from the past administration.
Just 2 players (Dembele and Coutinho) were signed for over 260 million ad these are just a tip of the amount of mismanagement that the administration did to Barcelona. You don't see numbers like these and blame the players. There was a time when players refused to leave the club because of the amount of money they were earning. They were ready to just be on the bench or go on loan.

I understand people always find ways to discredit Messi every chance they get and I know those numbers are rediculous numbers, but blaming him for the issues at Barcelona is laughable.
Barcelona have fixed their finances to a certain extent but they will continue to have issues because they're building a new stadium which will take a lot from them and at the same time the revenue they would have gotten from their stadium is not coming because they're using a stadium not even uo to half the size of their main stadium. Not to mention the fact that they're paying off debt owed by the past admistration, that's why they could register Olmo. High earners like Alba, Pique, Suarez, Busquest, Messi, and many more have left yet they still have issues, that should tell you that its not just about that.

As football fans we should try to get the fact right in matters like this instead of looking for ways to score points at rivals while spreading false information. 

We are talking about Messi, he makes argentina win the World cup, he is an excelent soccer player and any team would like to have It in their team.

That's why he isn't cheap, because there are some warranty of success if you have it in your team. And for sure he get a lot of offers, if he don't take this one for sure he will have another huge ones.

These kind of discussions make me amazed about what people think of individuals and systems or organizations. That Barcelona raised Lionel Messi to the top of the ladder b6 providing the platform does not mean he should not eat the fruit of his labour. It's already clear and evident that Messi gave Barcelona most of the trophies they got throughout those decades and the club should also show appreciation for that and should be honorable enough to make Messi happy. In the end, Messi needs to pay his bills and to secure his retirement with a more befitting reward. So it's a thing of value and a great grit that many could not achieve. Messi definitely deserves whatever he gets from Barcelona today.

There's nothing bad about that but let's be honest, people  sees Cristiano Ronaldo as one who is so much inclined to money than Messi whereas the difference is minimal and might even be the same.

No doubt Messi is not just a club legend for Barcelona but a blessing and a hero to them forever. Although let's not ignore the fact that this shows his state of loyalty was also still influenced by these moneys.

My point here is another thing, that is, do we really think that various franchise football clubs hire players only to protect their royalties? If we think so, then it would definitely be our wrong idea. Because clubs also hire good players according to their budget for their financial profit, the issue here is nothing else.
Everything involved is commercial. So I don't think it's a bad thing if a player joins another club for a slightly better offer. Rather, those who think it's a bad thing should understand the whole thing better.

Well, I've never heard of an accusation of this sort. I dunno what or how this emanated thus, I won't make a single comment about it... Question is, why should anyone make a comment about someone's salary?? All these players have got some real talent that's worth paying for, so what???

Whatever happened in his era wasn't his fault... Can y'all remember how he started at Barcelona?? How much was his salary at the time he played in a world class team -- consisting of Ronaldinho, poyul and Xavi? did you care to make some research about how he struggled with the consistency to maintain his position in the team??. If Barcelona paid him whatever, it was because he was worth it.. To prove that he wasn't robbing the club, his paycheck grew over the yearssssss man!!!

https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1355679184086036486

The tweet is from 2021, it is not anytime recently, don't know why this is a news one. Plus, it didn't even happen, that was the rumored one, but it was less, plus he left after a shortwhile from this tweet too, and went to PSG, so we could easily say that he was decent enough for Barcelona. You can pay someone a billion dollars too, the point isn't about just talent, its about profitability, if Messi takes 140 million a year, but then makes more for you, from jersey sales to team success, then you do not have a problem. What made Barcelona go down isn't Messi contract, its about how they paid so much money for useless players, many of them, even right now when in trouble, they still buy players they can't even register, so that mismanagement is the main reason why they are doing so badly, otherwise, they can pay Messi 500 even now, if they could have managed the team a lot better.

You are talking about Messi here, arguably the best footballer to ever play the game, he surely deserved any wages or bonuses he was earning in Barcelona, and he backed it up with his performance on the field week in and week out. Barcelona are in a financial crisis for many reasons and not only because of this, if the board made poor financial decisions, they have to bear the consequences now, there is no reason to slander Messi.

Of course i can, lol  :D
Obviously I don't blame only Messi because without the corrupt management such contracts would never have been signed. No player can be above the club and no club can be above business/common sense. Barcelona has been bankrupt for years now and not least because that money was spent on Messi. If that money had given a proper return (as many people write here haha) then Barcelona wouldn't be bankrupt would it?
And don't forget about the moral side of the issue: on the one hand, tales of love for one's home club, and on the other, "115 million signing bonus"  ;D

Those numbers are high, but how much money did Barcelona made during all the years in which Messi was playing for them? It is obvious that if they accepted to give that kind of contract to Messi, it was because they still found incredible profits doing so, and if that was not the case, then they are at fault for putting themselves in such a disadvantageous position, since it is not like Messi forced them to sign that contract and the directives could have sold him for a fortune back in the day.

Look, you can't put the responsibility on the individual.

Messi is arguably one of the best football players in the whole world. He spent so many years in Barcelona and they made so much money WITH him.
The decision to pay him so much is not an individual decision. He bargained for the best for himself but it's ultimately the owners of the team that decided to accept.

And as of Barcelona, it has a complicated team ownership structure that leads back to the fans. So props to the fans for doing everything in their power to invest in a player that was widely beloved. It was a good investment because for so many years Barcelona dominated popularity around the world. To this day many people remember them thanks to Messi's excellence.

I remember Gary Neville words: "When i was Manchester United player - i didn`t care about salary. When it was time to sign new contract, i just signed it and even don`t read it".
Today everything changed. I don`t think that it is Messi problem. We can talk only about moral side. Today getting maximum salary is an agent job. And the agent don`t cares about "home club" - he get some percent from the salary, signing bonus, sponsor contract, etc.
The same time, Messi was not the only player in Barcelona. Just several few years were bought Frenkie de Jong, Antoine Griezmann, Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha. If you have problems with money - you have to think about expenses.
PS. I`m sure that lots of member told before about the income from Messi and i have to agree with it. How much tickets were sold just to watch Messi? Sponsors contracts, equipment, the other ways of getting profit using his name. I don`t know were these sums more or less than his salary, but at least we must to calculate it too.

If the club keeps paying him then it is not destructions but judging from the list above, i can say that huge enough to paying out big time and what about other players who are also playing for Barcelona doesn't mean others won't be paid because of Messi?
Well, if you look it on other hands you could called it destructions because that amount is huge enough to pay at least 2 players if i am not mistakenly. But what I understand is that, the value the player is giving to the club is what matter and provided he is doing his best to deliver the team at all time then i see no much reason of calling it destruction.

I don't know the trend they wanted to start by making his contract agreements public in the first place, but You've done well by providing these statistics on the income vs expenses involving Messi in Barcelona. I was not going to comment without a balanced information regarding his involvement as it was clearly one-sided from the post. From the statistics you provided, it's obvious Barcelona made good money by having him around compared to how much they spent on him, which validates the fact that he was a good financial asset while on their team.

They can debunk it if it was false and bring out a clearer record on his financial dealings while at the club since they want to make it a public activity. Even OP is very funny to bring this one-sided testimony and start acting in support of it or maybe he's just one of the anti-Messi agents :'(

Messi is worth whatever Barcelona pays him, because he also brought glory to the club. No player will be able to create the history Messi has made in this generation. I wouldn't blame Messi but will blame Barcelona for spending so much on a player that wrecked them. Real Madrid doesn't have any financial problem but their bankroll payment on players is higher than Barcelona.

Every time I see those football salaries it makes me wonder if those players really worth that much. I dont know how many games per season they have, I suppose a lot. If he earns +138 millions per season, how much could he possibly earn per game? I suppose a lot. But by knowing that he already have millions, will he really show 1000% of his performance in every game to show that he worth every cent he receive? I am very far away from football, but I somehow has an opinion about his performance during career in US has formed that he wasnt performing as great as expected. So paying half a billion for him. I dunno ???

Why don't they also compute the amount paid by advertisers in their dome so that we may compare it with how much they paid Messi? I mean, Barcelona became a popular team because of him and it is still up until now. So, advertisers will probably go to them and pay a huge amount just so their names will be seen in the dome.
Plus, I don't think they made that decision just because they want to force Messi in their team, they have financial advisors who would say they can really afford that amount just to get him. Every star player should be greedy, this is a chance in a lifetime and they need money for their retirement. Once they grow old, less money will come in.

I think football-loving people know the names of Messi and Barcelona. Barcelona and Messi depend on each other. One way, Messi developed Barcelona. On the other hand, Barcelona grew Messi's life. Messi out-broke Barcelona worldwide. Barcelona was a deep breath of Messi. It's heartless news for Barcelona because if Barcelona loses its financial support to pay the reward to Messi, then it's very sad news for football lovers. Messi should recover Barcelona again.

The secrecy behind the Messi's contract left a lot to be desired for, at a point, nobody actually knew what Messi was collect as weekly payment from the public domain, so I'm not surprised that this news is coming out now. I think the best people to blame for all of these were Barcelona, over the years when Messi was at his peak, if the wages to which he is demanding is too much, why not sell him out, Ronaldo had the same issue with Manchester United, if the player feels he is getting good offer somewhere else and you check out your financial level as a club you cannot sustain him anymore, you should let him go, Ronaldo left Manchester United at his peak as a world best player, Manchester United as a then had all the trappings to keep Ronaldo, but when they check that the offer Madrid were bringing and the players desire to live and seek for a greener pasture somewhere, Manchester united had to allow him go. if Barcelona felt the wage bill on them from Messi's contract was heavy on them financially, instead of keeping Messi and going Bankrupt, they would allowed him to go earlier.

what do you mean by being greedy? Isn't he worth that amount of money? If he his not worth it,  I believe he won't get that kind of wage regardless of the need to get such a player.

Messi is not just an ordinary player but a world class that's one of the best that ever played the game of football. He has shown himself and proven it over and over again and that's why such an amount is being paid to him. A lot of the Barca fans are still supporting the club and buying the clubs Jessy just because of Messi and you don't know that it takes the likes of Messi to attract that sort of thing even after he has left the team? It's not as if it's a forceful payment so yeah, he deserves whatever he's getting  because he works for it.

I think he could set the price even higher, so it is solely the responsibility of  Barcelona's management which allowed such big-value contract. For such money they could have two-three players from the primary class.

Regarding Messi himself, his life style evidences that the guy kinda like to buy a white horse  and he doesn't care of Barcelona fate, ^{though, I think he would do the same with the any club}.

I didn't even suspect that the root of the problem is so deep, the media writes about problems with registration, but in any case, this is a big problem for Barcelona, ​​because they lost Olmo until the end of the season. And now Olmo can use the clause in the contract and leave the team as a free agent, which will be an even bigger problem for Barcelona, ​​because Barcelona will have to pay the remaining 48M to Leipzig for the transfer, and this will entail a problem with financial reporting.

Greed isn't the case here, the team agreed and wanted to pay Messi this sum which he found okay and did accepted and he was really exceptional all the time he was at Barcelona, he was never a problem to them and he was wort ever money that was paid him so i didn't see a reason to think he was greedy, moreover, there was a time he did requested a slash of his salary so he could still stay back and help the team through their financial crisis but then the team refused as they taught they cant afford him and then he moved to PSG, he had a high price because he had the value.

There is nothing wrong with the amount of money Barcelona agreed to offer, if it was something that was so much for the club to afford the club has the right not to go for him .  The most important thing is that even with the money that was offered to Messi was still not a waste, the player was able to give the club is best performance,  I'm very sure Barcelona really knows what they wanted then and they went for it which the player delivered for the club not just with trophies but memorable performance that can't be forgotten. I don't think the money was so much for Messi, he deserves it. He is one of the reason I so much love Barcelona as a club.

I told him earlier before now. Messi deserved all the amount mentioned on that image. And it was a never a force for the club to pay that money. The question is did they pay the money in the end? Of course we know they did. If he is not worth it, trust me the club will remove the matter from their table.

Such a player like Messi even at his retirement age any club will be willing to take him as part of their team. With the little strength he has, he can guide the players and teach them in the field to win games.

Inasmuch as the figure is far too much, have we thought about the countless trophies he won for the team? His dedication and all that. Messi spent 21 years of his with the Barcelona team. He joined the club from the club youth academy. From there, he won the world's best player and formed a formidable attack on the frontline that compromised him, Louis Suarez, and Neymar. So many of us can't forget how the frontline of Barcelona was then, that the Barcelona team so many of us fall in love with is because of Messi.

The impact that Messi made on Barcelona can't be forgotten. Will still be remembered. Given these figures as what Messi earned in Barcelona, have they mentioned the endorsement the team had because the world's best player "Messi" was in Barcelona

Let's not forget that this is an X post, we can't trust the integrity of the values quoted as the values are not certified by Messi and Barcelona themselves.

That said, every international player is a business person whether we like it or not, there will always be negotiations and they will certainly not settle for less. So calling Messi or any player greedy is out of place, it's business, it's contractual, it's never by force. Messi did his best when he was in Barcelona as one of the best, Barcelona has to pay for it. Barcelona had the issue when Messi was there and after he left and still wanted him back before they were stable, so what's the point?

Do you think they should focus on the young people rather than the stars in the club? I think it should be somewhat of an approach to them that building a team surrounding established people would be expensive. I guess it just contradicts his "loyalty" statements.

Unless the club's priority is with the star, they would have to have that in the budget. It's a matter of priority and choice.

I think it's better to think of long-term success now and have younger talents. There are many risks, of course, but that's a different topic.

But some Messi and Barcelona fans consider it fair amount to be received by player like Messi, they think no great player can be obtained with low price and salary.
When we think logically and calculate everything, it is clear that Messi has indeed helped Barcelona lot to achieve various successes but there is high price that makes Barcelona suffer with financial crisis that not only lost Olmo but also Pau Victor, both of these players are certainly not registered and that must be a heavy blow for everyone who creates sense of disappointment.

Barcelona's bankruptcy should be the responsibility of the managers because they are the ones who should analyze the value and condition of each player's contract, they are the ones who should analyze the value and conditions of each coach they hire. If they had had good managers, then today the team would have continued to be very strong and with great financial stability. Keeping things from the past will not solve Barcelona's problems in the present, Messi is no longer at Barcelona, ​​he is in the USA and I think he deserves to stay away from past controversies.

The party to blame for Barcelona's bankruptcy is the management, not because of one player, because the management offered Messi a contract and it must have been because they saw his contribution.
If the club doesn't have that much money, then why did they force themselves to offer such a huge value? The answer is because the club knows they will get a bigger return, but unfortunately the poor management of the club made Barca a bankrupt club.
Just curious why Fabrizio only posted about Messi's contract, because it could be that Ronaldo and other expensive players also received more fantastic figures.

But does this have anything to do with gambling? I thinkk the moderators will move it to an off-topic board

Any sport is still a business. Loyalty, in my opinion, doesn’t mean you should do anything for free. I would argue that Messi made sure his payment was well worth it and boy did he perform for every dollar. Barcelona knew what they were getting into. It was their choice and it was always the right one. To have Messi playing for you is a privilege.

Professional football is a big business, and everyone tries to take as much profit as possible from it. We can talk about someone being more or less greedy, but most players are in it for the money first and foremost, and only then for football as a sport. When we take into account that the demands on the players in terms of obligations are getting bigger and bigger, I am not surprised that some charge a lot for their services - but it is not only their fault, but also those who fulfill their demands.

Even if you say that Messi destroyed Barcelona, ​​I think that what is in their contract is well agreed upon, that whether they win or lose, Barcelona seems to be prepared for it. Moreover, and it seems that they respect Messi and trust this popular person.

And from what I see, even if Messi is paid a lot, I also think that he deserves it because he worked hard for it, that's why Barcelona offered him that contract payment,
and take note Barcelona knows how to fulfill their agreement even if the result is not good.

Barcelona had a choice between funding Messi and letting him go and they did it for as long as they could and damaged their finance in the process. In a sense, they did bit more than they could chew and still paying the price for it. They were away that Messi's contract was running them to the ground yet they decided to keep it running for years. It was not until they went backrupt that they stopped.

Barcelona should be blamed. Not Messi.

Messi is not responsible for the club's financial problems; when he departed, the club was still in good financial shape, and things only went worse due to the disastrous administration that followed. The money shown in those images was only for the last four years, and he could have earned more anywhere else at the time that the contract was presented. Let us not forget that he played for the club for 9 years and earned the club more money than he received.

Messi was literally Barcelona money making machine, from shirt, to sponsorship, Barcelona should be grateful he made them relevant and put them in a good financial condition for years.

The numbers are normal. Keeping the undisputed best footballer the world has ever seen comes at a price. And when I compare it with other sports, I don't see anything abnormal.
We are not talking about an ordinary player. No football player in the world has achieved what Messi has achieved. Maybe there won't be another like him for another 100 years. Maybe the game of football will change, but we will never see anyone better than him.
What Messi has brought to Barca is much more, both sportingly and financially. It's pointless to talk about these figures here. We are a lucky generation who had the opportunity to watch him live.

You're right. Barcelona shouldn't blame Messi because they have few options. If they think it is too big amount of money to pay Messi's salary, Barcelona can sell Messi to other teams. Inter ever made an offer to buy Messi, and there are some other teams ever tried to sign Messi. So, it doesn't make sense if Barcelona to blame Messi. Barcelona management should have lack of capability if they can't predict the potential of crisis of they keep Messi in the squad.

Fans owned clubs would inventualy die off at some point and it's already happening with Barcelona, the finance is ruined and no assets left to sell anymore and finally the team would be forced to enter administration or to relegate if they can't meet up the financial demands of staying up in the league.

Money made from Messi was what was sustaining for the club for a long time since he left they have been struggling. Ordinary players like Mbappe and KDB earns closer to that amount and they're not as close to what Messi was and the amount of money he generated to the club.

Barcelona has always been responsible for making those payments to a player, if they put it like that it is because they themselves accepted it, Messi is just another player, in fact the way they kicked him out of the club was very humiliating and then when they left him out of the competitions they appealed to bring him back, besides Messi gave many triumphs to this club, I think there was a lot of waste of money by the club's board, why doesn't Madrid suffer these things? Besides, the merengue club has many more stars than Barcelona, ​​​​and they don't have financial problems, perhaps now the club is suffering because it doesn't manage its funds well, I wouldn't blame Messi, and I'm not a big fan of his, but I don't think he's responsible for so many bankruptcies, did they let Olmo go? I had read the opposite somewhere, but if it was like that, the club's own fault.

Why did Messi destroy Barcelona? Isn't Barcelona's finances in trouble not only because Messi was on the team at that time Barcelona had a number of star players and they also had high salaries and during the covid pandemic Barcelona's finances were increasingly in trouble until they had to sell some of their players, I think it is very reasonable for Messi to get a big salary because his contribution is in accordance with his value, during Messi's time Barcelona was still in its glory but indeed after losing some of its star players Barcelona began to feel the impact of the increasing debt. However, it was not the player's fault but the club itself which could not manage it well even though the impact of star players was very influential since many investors entered the Barcelona club at that time.

Nope, it isn`t just X post. It is post by Fabricio Romano. He is well known as football insider and often give us correct information before officials. Of course it is not 100% guarantee, but he is someone who can tell the truth.
PS. The same time he told just the part of the truth. No words how much Barcelona got from Messi.

Messi also contributed a lot to the club. The huge jersey sales, sponsorships, endorsement deals, overseas tours, etc that Barca got during his time was because of him. Barcelona is not the only club that has signed a big player and spent a fortune on them. The management made some bad financial decisions that led to their financial problems. The club should have done a comprehensive financial analysis before they decided to give Messi such a lucrative contract. Josep Maria Bartomeu and other top management staff should be blamed for this financial mess. I also think that the massive budget spent on some. players like Coutinho, Dembele and Umtiti was not sound.

Barcelona won everything in the time of Messi so while financially they may have struggled to keep him, he gave the team the needed glory that everyone of the fans was expecting from quite some time before he came in the team. Barcelona had always financial problems with Johan La Porta as their president so if they are struggling now in this regard it is his responsibility to bring them out if he is still there managing the team direction. If not whoever is in the management it is their duty to bring Barcelona out of any financial trouble and the results of the team this season although not brilliant they are good enough somehow. They have not the most expensive players in the world and based on the player base they have I think they are still doing good, so nothing wrong with them so far.

I won't call that being greedy because that's his worth his a big player who has really helped the club in winning a lot of games he played for Barcelona very well he put on all his best for them to win trophies, when he was in Barcelona he helped them to win 10 la Liga titles, 3 FIFA Club World Cup titles, 4 UEFA Champions League titles, 3 UEFA Super Cup titles, 8 Supercopa de Españatitles titles, 7 Copa del Rey titles and finally 3 FIFA Club World Cup titles, now tell me if his really greedy, he disserve the payment, not that he was not contributing to all this wins he was the reason for those wins he scored a lot of winning goals and gave a lot of assists, in every match he most be involved in there winning, Barcelona saw that truly he worth such amount of money and that was why they agreed to pay him such and they where also making very huge am of money from him because of Messi tickets where been sold with good amount of money, Messi attracted top sponsors like Nike, Rakuten, and Beko to Barcelona Messi increased sponsorship revenues by at least €200–300 million annually for Barcelona, Barcelona where also making huge amount of money from selling his jersey to people barcelona where making €100–150 million annually from this, Messi made Barcelona to have more fan base and that made Barcelona social media account's to grow and they where also making amazing money from those social media account's, so with all this things Messi has done and brought to the club doi you think paying him such amount of money is not good, he disserves that payment and Barcelona knew that also.

Don't give Fabricio Romano too much credit, he can't be more than a sports journalist, he is still not Messi nor Barcelona, they are the ones who can guarantee those figures officially and I am happy you mentioned it similarly in the latter part. That was even by the way, the main gist of my post was that Messi earned what was agreed upon between him and Barca, no one forces the other here, so labelling him greedy or a destroyer is 100% out of place.

Glory + ruins  ;)
Unfortunately, this is a complete set. Real Madrid has been modest in acquisitions for many years (look how many great players they get for free/almost for free) + Real Madrid stamps out Champions League victories like on a conveyor belt. It is obvious that Real Madrid has an ideal business model and they are doing well financially.
Barcelona last won the Champions League ten years ago, maybe they should have spent less money on non-legendary players, but those who give results?  ;D

Wait, are these figures just been made open recently. Were they not known by the public right from the days they were signed. I mean was it just like a gentleman agreement? That time gentleman agreement is what I do not like in football because in the end, either the player will use it against the management or otherwise. Mostly it is management using it against the players just like the case of Harry Kane before he left for Bayern Munich.

For the numbers in the infographic above, I think they are  outrageous and people should stop associating Messi with loyalty in Barcelona. At the time I thought he signed a life agreement with the rumors that were said that Barcelona cured Messi's illness that made him to be loyal to Barcelona not knowing that such amount of money was involved. Football is for the money before passion and loyalty.

Did you even try to look into the years the money was paid? And how long did he play for Barcelona on a pitiful salary while generating them all the money? It's simple business; he was in his prime, and Chelsea and other top clubs were willing to pay even more than Barcelona did. The amounts are only noticeable because all of Messi's sponsorship deals for the team are no longer flowing in. They're dead ass block club looking for who to blame

The big truth is that the players have no respect for the clubs, they only think about money and making more and more money with everything they can. The love for the clubs and the sport itself ended around the 90s. Nowadays, they monetize as much as they can... but the club is also partly to blame for this. After all, no one pointed a gun at the president of Barcelona and told him to sign the contract.

Sorry, but what?! The first reason to start playing any sport is money?! Really now? This thinking has brought us to the point where we are and everything is sooooo beautiful! Money, money, and money, ffs... :-[
No player in any sport is to blame for the money he gets or can get. The "teams" are companies (and one of the best and biggest "laundries"...) that see and treat them as assets and how they will bring them as much money as possible. There are very few cases of teams whose owners have watched the sport or even know it. They are not interested in this, they don't care in the slightest. If they profit from any transfer, renewal, etc they will do it no matter what it costs.
Huge players have passed from the football planet and such money they would not dare to ask for, nor even imagine. Yes, Messi is one of them without a doubt, but we must admit that the situation has gotten out of hand as far as the financial part is concerned. And IMO, that's not good at all.

I think it is too much for a player like Lionel Messi. Barcelona could not pay him the money he expected and he left the team. Messi left the team during one of his most productive periods. I think Barcelona should have given him everything he wanted financially. I just find this wrong; if Messi was truly devoted to Barcelona, ​​he could have reduced the amounts he wanted a little more. In his press release, he presented the reason for leaving Barcelona as if it was different. Many people found Barcelona unfair. However, Barcelona, ​​which had a very hard time paying the requested amounts, still did not reflect this in the press.

I don't know why anyone would see that as greed, definitions can be given in various ways but not when Messi is included. I'm a big football fan of Messi and his style of play, not alone his influence on the pitch. Anyone who watched him play at Barcelona will have less to wrong details to spot about the whole deal.

Let's be guided, we are referring to the best player that ever kicked football, free to challenge either disagree to later agree as my local saying on matters like this where everyone has their different opinions.

When we discuss this money issue in general, we also discuss it in a relation to Messi and Barcelona. If this huge financial marriage had been peaceful existing between Messi and Barcelona, when the club had financial issues, Messi would have taken a pay cut and support them even for one season.
There was no love lost between the Man and his former club. The tears seem crocodile. And today some Barcelona fanatics are still fantasizing that Messi will return to Barcelona before retirement.

Judging by this topic, some people simply ignore the moral/ethical/image side of the issue. No one is saying that Messi robbed Barcelona or secretly stole something, but everyone knows that a huge part of his PR is that he is a "modest, loyal footballer" and other blah-blah-blah that we usually see in fairy tales.
In fact, everything is different, he is a businessman like Neymar, like Mbappe (and his mother haha) and all the rest. He squeezed Barcelona dry and left (as a free agent) for PSG. These are the facts.

Facing this kind of financial problem was devastating for the team, Messi's team destroyed them through their perseverance and dedication which led to success. This was the result of hard work and discipline that eventually earned good outcomes, and though many people thought that they'd been destroyed to dust; well sportsmanship matters in the first place and nothing personal. What's stated on the contract regardless of what the scenario would be like, the obligation of paying must be accomplished without any further changes.

No one would argue that Messi didn’t make a great impact on the team or Messi isn’t worth any amount he was paid as wages but, you would agree with me that Barcelona made Messi who he is today and before Barcelona, the name Messi didn’t mean much to anyone.
Loyalty to the team is having to cut down on price so the team could go forward also. It’s not just playing for the team but, playing for the team under circumstances that wouldn’t be cut throat to the team. Barcelona just looks like they had a knife to their throat all along. These figures are just over the edge, now the club is financially ruined, where is the loyalty in that.

A four year contract of €555,237,619 is about €2,669,584 million euros per week. This is quite huge and unbelievable. In a club like Arsenal where the highest paid player earns about 280k/week, such an amount can pay 10 - 15 players. To be honest, I don't think Messi was greedy, not that he put a gun to their head and forced them give him such an offer. Barcelona did what they did because they wanted to tie him down and he took it. It was very stupid of them to do that and they're responsible for whatever financial mess they find themselve.

Well, I know not much on how football contract with players and clubs works, but I still will not agree that Messi destroyed Barcelona.
It's true that the numbers mentioned are indeed outrageous, really on the upside but I want to believe that Messi didn't force the management of Barcelona into accepting to pay him this huge sum, knowing fully well it's something that could spell doom for the club in the long run as regards finances.

I would actually turn the table round to say that the management of Barcelona were or are the greedy ones here, they needed a big name in their club not minding the cost, and not minding where this will land the club financially, so the management of the club destroyed the club and not Messi, I believe Messi made an offer which the club willingly (without being forced) accepted.

I tend to disagree with you but not totally though, Xavi, Iniesta, Surez and Neymar were all pivotal in Braca's last UCL trophy which was in 2014/2015 season. Ever since Xavi, Iniesta retired and Neymar left for PSG, Messi took Barcelona to SF only once. In 2015/2016 season ATM knocked them out in QF. In 2016/2017 season Juventus knocked them out in QF again. in 2017/2018 season AS Roma knocked them out in QF again. In 2018/2019 season Liverpool knocked them out in SF after a 3 - 0 comeback. In 2019/2020 season, they were humiliated 8 - 2 by Bayern Munchin. As they say, the rest is history.

Don't stain his white, if the deal wasn't a good one i never think Barcelona will be pleased to accept the deal, they never forced Barcelona signing the deal, they saw the importance and decided to invest in him. Since Messi arrangements doesn't suit what he's benefiting, I'm sure you can label out many players also who doesn't represent for once a dime he was bought and kept for long in the club.

I'm wondering whom you will have left when you remove Messi out of Barcelona. Not saying he is to request too much, but don't include what he demands as benefits with how much he has given to the club, also don't forget Messi as a figure contributed massively to the well being of Barcelona. I believe if Messi should dare return to Barcelona before his retirement, Barcelona will regain as much to nearly what they spent on him.

I’m not a fan, he’s so good at what he does probably they willingly decided to offer such money so I see no point why  the team will regret. I hardly follow updates as such and I’m wondering destroy in what way? If I’m not mistaking Messi performed his best and it’s normal with every footballer not because they’re the best we should expect mistakes at times. Same goes to other players mostly the big names like Ronaldo, Mbappé etc, if anyone is in such situation they’ll do same no doubt that’s why it’s best every player build their ability.

I agree with you that this is quite natural for Messi who has a brilliant career in Barcelona with an extraordinary note in Barcelona, ​​really it is very natural to get expensive payment from Barcelona, ​​because he is the best player, how could the best player given a low salary, If you think Messi is also a pillar of Barcelona's success during her there, then what must be demanded and questioned that Barcelona's bankruptcy can be thrown on Messi, however before there must be a contract and management of Barcelona has considered the merits Messi, a stupid thing if you blame Messi.

I don`t ready to give him too much credit, but the same time i can`t call him noname X user. He made good predictions lots of time. I wanted to say mostly about it. And of course no one knows what was between Messi and Barcelona without witnesses. And as i said, we see only Messi`s profit here. Without words about what Messi gave to Barcelona.

I mean, when a club and a player sign a deal, they both are getting benefited from it, there is no doubt about it. Barcelona as a club probably made their money back after so many years having Messi in their ranks and being their star player. There is nobody to blame, because there is always bargain and negotiation to settle things down and get a deal which feels right for both the club and the player.
I believe OP is rather pointing out the alledged hipocrisy from Messe when he talked about Barcelona as it was part of his life and family, in a endearing way, when in reality there was nothing unconditional on his love for the club, it was rather economical.

I cannot judge Messi, because if I was one of the most wanted players within the world of Football I would also like to get paid as much as possible, I would get greedy as well. Nobody here is a saint to say they would refuse such a fortune.

Aside Messi being a very good player, I believe that he did not force Barcelona into paying him the amount of money the club is paying him, so this actually leaves me with the very same question, "destroy in what way?"

Like I have mentioned in my previous comment, I don't know exactly how it's done but a club shows interest in a player, and the player can possibly make a demand, now it's up to the club to accept the demand made by the player or reject it.
If Messi made a demand of the stated amounts to Barcelona and they accepted it, it's because Messi was (and maybe) still worth this value to them, Messi have not destroyed Barcelona in any way, but rather, the management of the club is likely responsible for whatever the club may have or is going through in terms of finance and other issues.

Is always the same, is easy they only claim Messi is responsibile for destroying Barcelona in a financial way but as i said before is a no sense to charge all the bad decission on Messi salary plus we are not counting the gross ammount of money who Barcelona takes as a profit for having Messi as a player for several years.

Lionel Messi should not be blamed in any way for the financial chaos that has befalling Barcelona because despite that the club was paying him handsomely, he also made a lot of money for the club even more than the club spent on him and it was even confirmed by the club's president after Lionel Messi's exit in 2021. And besides, Lionel Messi's impact to Barcelona cannot be commensurate with the amount the club was paying him since he joined the senior team. The club's president, Joan Laporta said in 2021 that Messi generated more than 1.2 billion Euros for Barcelona since 2018 which was more than x2 of what the club was paying him then. Barcelona should just accept that the financial crisis that has befalling them is as a result of poor financial management after the COVID and not put it on Lionel Messi. Besides, Lionel Messi worth any amount the club paid him or is still paying him because he brought the team to light during his reign in Barcelona.

I agree with that because Lionel Messi only asked for what is rightfully his, and that is in accordance with what he has given to the club. What destroyed Barcelona was not Lionel Messi, but Barcelona itself who failed to manage its finances properly. They took a lot of advantage from their fans, even considering fans as nothing more than cash cows, openly giving donations, selling tattoos, and breaking seats for fans. But who knows where the money they earned went? The club has been experiencing financial problems for quite a long time, and now they are even being strangled by the Dani Olemo case which has made the team's financial condition even worse. and maybe only Joan Laporta knows for sure about this..!!

I would rather lean towards a theory of financial mismanagement by the club and not only to focus on the salary Messi received (and possibly continues to receive to this day). Both Messi and the club benefited from such contracts and knowing how famous Messi is, I don't have any doubt in my mind the Barcelona Club have capitalized the image of Messi within all the realm of possibilities they had.
The club will survive and definitely Messi will survive, is there is a lesson to be learnt here is one needs to know how much one is valued in the working market. Not to sell ourselves short in any way,.shape or form 

Well, the main problem is that, is gonna the club survive as a club, i mean the real definition of a club where the club is owned by his partners (socios) who paid every sinlge month his money. Or is gonna have to be sell into so sort of inancial institution and take out from the hands of the people.

You just nailed it, friend, oh yes, Messi is a big name in the world of football, so no one should discredit him for any reason. He has received every possible award due to his dedicated efforts, that guy is a true epitome of honour, and he is even booked to receive one of the US highest awards as Biden bows out of office just because he is in the Inter Miami. Anyone who wants to sign such a man must be ready to part ways with a huge amount of money. So he has always been justified for his pay.

I can`t say that he had been justified for his pay(but i can`t say otherwise). In this twit we see only one hand of the situation. Even if we remove football achievements and count only money - Barcelona got good money from Messi in the squad. Romano don`t write about it - in such way it wouldn`t be so bright twit.
And you say the right words - if you want big player - be ready to pay big money.

I don't see it as been greed since Messi wasn't forcing it on them to do so if Barcelona wasn't comfortable with the price they would have allowed Messi to leave the team then, Messi is a very good player he has won world best player several times he has even make Barcelona achieve more tittle and names in football history so I think he worth the payment Messi has help Barcelona to generate more money in the past. The only part I wasn't happy with Messi was the fart that he later left Barcelona at the end of everything he has been right from academy because through Barcelona he also made names in football I think he would have just retired at Barcelona.

How can you be sure of this? Maybe you were present at the negotiations or you have some inside information? From the facts we have: 115 million simply for agreeing to extend the contract. I think you will agree that this is very similar to "if you don't pay me, then I can go to those who will"? And this is not a conversation about salary at all. Literally 115 million for "loyalty".

Barcelona was literally paying Messi that huge because they wanted to secure him from other clubs that could have developed interest in the striker since when they are aware of the huge amount it will take to sign him, they will be scared to let go such outrageous amount on just one player so Barcelona is actually the architect of their woes. The management of the club mishandled their funds and it led them to the difficult financial predicament they find themselves now. What am even concerned now is how much they club is owing Lionel Messi that they have not be able to conclude the payment till now, it's really funny though because even while the player is no longer playing for Barcelona yet he is still receiving payments by the club.

https://i.ibb.co/nn7FSWS/20250102-181319.jpg
Lionel Messi knows his values and what he can deliver to any club he is playing for and regardless of the huge wages it shouldn't be a basis for a club to slide into financial problems as you mentioned, so Barcelona did not slide into the financial crisis because of the huge salary being paid to a single player and if there know he is being overpaid they would have sold him long ago before the time the did sell Messi to the Saudi pro league club, those are the guys with the big bag that can afford expensive players like Messi at the moment.

I won't call anyone greedy because they deserve it, the result of their actions. If it wasn't the result of their actions, no one would have offered them so much money. There are many people in this world and among many people there are many players who don't offer them so much money because their qualifications are not the same as Messi, Neymar, Mbappe. So the one who has more qualifications will be offered such money. Messi is a great player I like him not only me, people all over the world love Messi. When we see him play, we can think to ourselves that he has a miraculous hand in his game, but in fact it is because of his hard work and his actions. So he is one of the players in history i think he deserves this money.

You now sounded like politicians in my country...hahaha. The two still mean the same thing and as for me, Messi justified all the pay.

I like that, Fabricio Romano only played a critic in that post, a reason best known to himself and perhaps his paymasters. I don't trust all these commentators, influencers and journalists, they also receive their paychecks one way or another, or do not just like the person of some persons of interest.

Exactly, worth is not something one should play with, Leonel Messi disciplined and trained himself to have this worth and value so anyone who says this is greed perhaps has a different definition of greed because to me it is not greed he's worth it and even if he mentioned a bigger figure than this... i believe they would have still agree with the contract because of what he is, Leonel Messi has set and create a lot of records for Barcelona and he made the club Barcelona to stand out anywhere in world just as one can not mention Real Madrid without mentioning Ronaldo. i would have love to call it greed or theft if Leonel Messi did not worth it but instead he's worth more than that and most of these contract was done out of love.

LMAO

You don't seriously think that Messi is the one who put Barcelona in financial hardship, do you?

Because it was their presidents' fault.

They signed Dembele, Countinho, Greizmann and some other folks for 100m+ euros each. They all flopped and were sold for enormous losses.

Even now they are paying extravagant fees for transfers with their 'levers' when they should be focuses on erasing their debt. They are even had troubles keeping them (see for example Dani Olmo).

Barcelona have a bad habit on spending too much money on crappy transfers like these. They are like Manchester United in this regard but at least they know when to stop so they don't get into crippling debt.

The club have the right to say NO to what so ever offer Messi was telling them if it doesn't suit them they can probably let Messi go if the offer will be too big for them and you that were there present what made you believe that this was done duress, they choose to pay him 115 million for agreeing to extend his contract probably they believe if they allow his stay his presence in the team and his commitment to the team will generate the club more money instead of blaming Messi put the blame on the Barcelona management for accepting such offer so they probably seen or believe that they can't do with Messi in their team they forget that it was not just Messi alone that was making Barcelona play a better game but the entire team the like of xavi, Iniesta and others even made Messi who he is so they should allow Messi go if they can't pay and may even still do more better without Messi in the team. So OP Messi wasn't forcing this on them.

LOL!
Are you seriously incapable of counting? The total cost of those you listed is less than the cost of Messi alone. Have you ever heard of the cost/benefit ratio?
As was already written in the thread above after Xavi, Iniesta and other golden players left, Messi never led Barcelona to victory in the Champions League. Maybe it was worth looking for new Xavi/Iniesta (as Real did) than waste money on Messi?

What exactly are you saying man? hasn't Barcelona been winning trophies long before Messi? You sound as if Barcelona was nothing before now. Barcelona is the only reason why people know of him that's why he is often referred to as one club wonder, We all saw the evidence when he moved to PSG, or you want me to talk about that? The management killed the club by agreeing to every of his request that it got to a point they were afraid of losing him which resulted to his last threat of leaving the club before he was given that bumper geal of 555 million Euros in 4 years.   

There is mutual benefit in this contract. Messi did not force Barcelona to pay that money, so the club and Messi should be happy.
Barcelona is happy with the income they get from Messi. It would be too harsh to blame Messi for all of Barcelona's financial problems.
Barcelona may have torn itself apart, but this financially difficult process did not happen because of Messi.
It has nothing to do with greed, Messi got the payment he deserved.

Barcelona management weren’t held at gun point. They didn’t have to pay whatever he demanded from the club. If they did pay these absurd amounts then it only has one meaning to me. They also got their cut. Which means all of them together robbed the club.

If they it for free, then it is pure stupidity but I don’t think so.

I know this because that’s exactly how they rob clubs in my country.

This is a police/law enforcement matter imo. Organized crime.

Yes and no, because no one wants to be the management who let the legend of the club go because they dont want to paid his salary, you are gonna for sure pass to history for doing that and also for sure lose the next elections.

I believe you are one of the most active football analyst in this board, you should know better about comparism. If they say Mbape was been greedy, then he iis because he is just an average player that got the opportunity to win World cup with his ego been up there when he wasn't there in the first, similar to Neymar but he was even better than Mbape in my opinion but Messi, common, all of the other players that you mentioned performances reduced the moment the left their original club but Messi still remain at the top.

Look at how Neymar is struggling with his foot with injuries since he left Barcelona, Mbape is struggling everyday and working hard to be there, look at how he was playing in the last El clasico but when Messi was in Barcelona, he was been a god to Real Madrid players and even after he left, he is still who he is, he is the American guy every celebrity want to hang out and see him entertain them, he is worth every Euro he is been paid in his entire career.

But it is true :) I don`t think that someone except Barcelona top managers can say who got more from their "cooperation". And even they can`t separate Messi from the other squad and calculate correct. And we have to talk not only about money. It is football results, brand name, discounts for other transfers... I don`t think that Barcelona think that it was bad deal.


Such posts attract attention. I don`t think that someone would be interested if he wrote something like: "Messi got $1.000.000.000 salary for last contract, but Barcelona got summary profit from his brand $990.000.000(or $1.500.000.000, doesn`t matter)". Nobody will read or repost it.

It was the combined cost of all those players combined with the lack of revenue that took Barca down. PSG bought Neymar, Mbappe and then signed Messi on a free transfer and they haven't broken down like Barcelona did.

Even Chelsea signed 1 billion+ pounds worth of players in a few years, but they used some accounting shenanigans so they didn't experience that sort of crisis either.

I saw somewhere recently that if Messi made 200 million in a year, Barca made 500 million from him. So there is no other investment with such a good return. That's why you need to evaluate this money in this way. I also don't understand why you feel the need to open a new topic over a tweet from years ago. If Barca's economy is bad, it's because the management has failed in other things. Messi was a very profitable and prestigious investment. He made the team top class. But when you look at the other transfers you can see how much money was spent for nothing. Some players were paid 8-10 times their value, both in transfer fees and wages.

Exactly.

In the end, Bartomeu could've rejected such a contract. He had the power to do so as the club president. But he didn't, and just let the sporting director do his thing. So the blame is squarely on him (and Laporta to some extent).

Prime Messi really deserved all of it in my opinion but the internal management of Barcelona have been so greedy in the last decade that it's actually them who brought Barcelona in the current situation they are in and by all means , they have financial problems but the team itself is doing great and that is a great sign for the club. I'm also thinking that during those times , it was actually Barcelona and the sponsors who kept pushing money into Messi's pockets as I can't see him asking for such crazy amounts but some stories will never see the surface for media to publish them  ;D ;D

100%. I have written several times that without the corrupt management of Barcelona such a contract would not have been possible. But there are always two sides to a deal, right?
Everyone stubbornly continues to ignore the discrepancy between Messi's image of "love for the club that saved him" and his real deeds  ::)