Lionel Messi contract breakdown: Fans react to Barcelona star earning €265 PER MINUTE

Anyone who does not live under a stone is well aware that Lionel Messi is one of the most sought-after athletes of the last decade. However, this Sunday, the value of the Argentine superstar was reported by a Spanish news outlet and it suggested that Messi was handed the biggest contract in the history of sports. The report claimed that Messi, who signed his contract extension in 2017, is set to earn a maximum of €555,237,619 over four seasons if a series of conditions are met.

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Lionel Messi contract leaked: Barcelona star's outrageous contract details revealed

On Sunday, Spanish news outlet El Mundo published details of Lionel Messi’s current contract, which is reportedly worth up to €555m over four years if all add-ons were met. It is believed that Messi's contract was kept secret between the club and the player until now. Later on Sunday, Barcelona insisted that they were not responsible for the leak, and defined the contract as a “private document governed by the principle of confidentiality between the parties”.

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The publication highlighted that Barcelona offered Messi a signing-on bonus of €115,225,000 when he put pen to paper on his four-year deal on November 25, 2017. The contract also included a whopping €77,929,955 loyalty bonus. The report also claims that Messi has already secured around 92% of his collection from the contract. This amounts to a whopping €511,540,545, but it is believed that Messi had to pay half of that in taxes.

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How much does Messi earn at Barcelona? Messi career earnings and net worth

Among Messi's potential bonuses is a  €3,548,644 reward for winning the Champions League and €2,365,766 for winning the LaLiga title. A breakdown of the aforementioned numbers shows that Messi rakes in a reported €138,000,000 per season. If those numbers are indeed correct, it would confirm that Messi is in possession of the biggest deal in sports history. Reports from Celebrity Net Worth claim that Messi is worth around $400 million. 

Fans were also quick to react once Messi's contract was leaked on social media. On Twitter, one wrote, "For those of you saying he deserves it, you are crazy. No sportsperson deserves this much money when there are millions of poor people suffering." Another added, "All that money for 0 UCL trophies in four years."

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Messi joined Barcelona in 2000 aged 13 and made his debut for the club in 2004. He is Barcelona's all-time scorer with 650 goals and has also provided 280 assists in 755 appearances for the Catalan club. Messi has won 10 LaLiga titles and four Champions Leagues with Barcelona during his illustrious career so far. 

Image Credits - Leo Messi Instagram