Lionel Messi's Reported $35 Million Wage Demands Are Too Pricey for Barcelona
Lionel or ? It appears Barcelona will have to choose one or the other in the very near future.
Spanish newspaper AS (via Fox Soccer) reported that the Argentine star wants a new contract worth โฌ25 million after tax, which would mean a gross salary of โฌ50 million paid by the club.
The more interesting part comes later in the article:
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"Messiโs desire for a new deal (his seventh since 2005) reportedly stems from Barcelonaโs recruitment of last summer. joined the club in a complicated and expensive transfer, which effectively made the Brazilian forward Barcelonaโs highest-paid player with an annual salary of โฌ18 million to โฌ20 million ($25 million to $28 million/ยฃ15 million to ยฃ16.7 million).
"
As soon as arrived, this was the nightmare scenarioโthe day Barcelona would have to part ways with .
The young Brazilian said all theย right things as soon as he arrived at the Camp, allaying supporters' fears at the time.
Looking at the , though, having both he and on the same team didn't look sustainable.
Johan famously told when the transfer went through, "I wouldn't put two captains on the same ship." As much as is a contrarian and grown more curmudgeonly with age, he was on to something.
The reckoning point was coming sooner or later, and possibly wanting โฌ50 million a year could be the moment that Barca's hand is forced.
It's easy to dismiss this rumor as pure conjecture with no basis in fact.
However, there are a few things to consider.
First is that is more of a than some want to admit.
From the moment to he moved to Barcelona in order to get the growth hormone he needed, to when he reportedly sent a text to then coach Pep reading "Well, I can see I'm not important to the team anymore, so..."โwhich precipitated move to A.C. MilanโMessi has been brilliant with the way in which he's handled his footballing career.
He's also been keen to ensure that he's maintained top-dog status, thus it didn't work with and Barca.
, Andres , and Victor Valdes are all undoubtedly leaders in the dressing room and hold a lot of influence, but they all fall behind in the club hierarchy.
The second point to ponder is that is a very real threat to standing as the unquestioned alpha male at the Camp.
Barcelona never wanted the particulars of contract coming to light, as it would've meant everyone realizing how much the Spanish club iss paying the Brazilian compared to his South American compatriot.
The Guardian's Sid Lowe questioned if the club tried to shroud actual salary so as not to cause a rift between it and .
If sees that somebody is making more than he is, it's not far off to think he would take that as a personal slight.
You never want to lose a player the caliber of Lionel , but having softens the blow. Barcelona have been great at creating succession plans for their biggest stars, so they likely knew that would eventually make expendable one day.
Even taking out of the equation completely, you have to wonder whether it makes financial sense for Barca to sign any player for what is reportedly demanding.
There's little question that he deserves to be paid like one of the best players in the world. A price tag ofโฌ50ย million is an astronomical sum, but in today's game, that's fair value.
Barcelona don't have an treasure chest of money, though. Like every other Spanish club, they carry massive debt. They simply can't afford to be spending โฌ50 million on one player, especially when they need to upgrade the back following imminent departure.
That โฌ50 million and subsequent transfer fee could be much better spent elsewhere. It's a tough decision to make, but it's one that the club president has to make if he's to secure the club's long-term future.
Follow me on Twitter @JosephZucker.
