Messi and the (missed) renewal with Barça: all the background

El Mundo slams on the front page the exorbitant requests of Leo Messi to renew the contract with Barcelona expiring in 2021, and it does so in great detail, dedicating a good part of the first and 5 pages inside to it.

Thousands of emails

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They call the dossier ‘Barçaleaks’, writing that they had access to thousands of emails between the Argentine’s economic staff and the Barça management then led by Josep Maria Bartomeu. In addition to the documents of the final breakup, the one that brought Leo to Paris, there are also many relating to the beginning of the triumphal relationship between the Argentine boy and the Catalan club. Let’s go in order. And let’s start from the end. Recalling, however, that El Mundo in January 2021 had also published the figures of Messi’s last contract in Blaugrana, the four-year contract signed in 2017 at an incredible figure: with all the bonuses it could reach 138 million gross per season, 555 million euros in total.

The conditions

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According to what was published today by the Mundo, the Messi clan imposed these conditions to renew: three years of contract at 74.9 million euros net per season; during the 20-21 season, the one scourged by Covid, Messi accepted a 30% salary reduction: he asked to recover the lost money with an interest of 3%. The three-year contract provided for an optional fourth season, with a unilateral decision by the player; No termination clause, which in 2021 was set at 700 million, just a symbolic penalty of 10,000 euros; Another 10 million euros upon signing; Stage at the Camp Nou for his family and that of his friend Luis Suarez; The confirmation of Pepe Costa, the shadow of him, his factotum, and the settlement of the debts of his brother Rodrigo, former agent of Ansu Fati.

The break

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“They have a sword over their heads, they will feel compelled to accept,” says Jorge Messi, the player’s father and agent. It didn’t happen that way. Because Bartomeu overwhelmed by the economic scandal of his management was forced to resign. In March 2021, Joan Laporta, the president who had launched Messi, was elected. Everything seemed like he had to settle down, but he didn’t. On the contrary, the relationship between Laporta and the Messi first cooled down and then became decidedly bitter, with mutual accusations always linked to economic issues. In recent times Laporta has been seeking reconciliation with Messi, and it is clear that today’s revelations complicate matters.

The first contract

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Considering the exorbitant figures of the end of the relationship between Leo and Barça, those initial ones make a smile. Sul Mundo also published the Argentine’s first contracts, signed by his parents since Leo was a teenager. Landed in Barcelona in 2000 to heal himself, he had growth problems, and then exploded in all the incredible magic of him. Barça’s first payment to Messi was a € 5094 scholarship, a contract signed on December 5, 2001 when the Argentine was 14 years old.

Millionaire clause

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If in 2003, to the compliment of the 16 years, Barça had not offered him a real contract, the compensation in favor of the Messi family had been set at 150,253 euros. However, on the contrary, if Leo had not wanted to continue in Blaugrana, the family would have had to pay the club 5 million euros. On July 1, 2003, with Messi 16, here is the first real contract: 9 years of duration, with a fixed price of 45.977 for the first season (2003-2004), 1503 euros for each official match played (minimum 45 minutes, cumulative between various games), a bonus of € 5109 and another € 9015 for image rights. Each year the four quantities increased, up to 432,188 euros in the 11-12 season, with 8414 euros per game. At that point, however, Messi had already exploded, like Guardiola’s Barça. That first contract had been buried by other agreements signed in series on an almost annual basis, in parallel progression with the increasingly decisive performances of the Argentine.