Lionel Messi’s current contract will end up costing already cash-strapped Barcelona a whopping 555m euros when it concludes this summer, El Mundo reported on Sunday.
The four-year deal inked in 2017 will end this June when the 33-year-old will be able to leave on a free transfer, with El Mundo saying the combination of fixed salary, image rights, variables and the tax that Barcelona have had to pay on the contract will rise to 555,237,619 euros.
Messi is also guaranteed 138m euros a season in gross salary according to the leaked contract, with the leak very likely to infuriate Messi’s camp besides further destabilizing Barcelona as the club readies itself for presidential elections originally planned for last week but now postponed until March 7 because of the coronavirus.
This leaked contract news comes only days after the club published their financial report for 2019-20 which revealed a gross debt of 1.2 billion euros.