Lionel Messi's Contract: A Shocking Revelation From El Mundo

Over the weekend, Spanish newspaper El Mundo dropped an earth-shattering bombshell. The bombshell wasn't about politics, business, or COVID… It was about sports. Specifically, Lionel Messi's contract. The revelations have left much of the world, even non-sports fans, flabbergasted. Gobsmacked. Stunned. We all knew Lionel Messi was an extremely well-compensated athlete, certainly one of the highest-paid athletes in the world. But his actual contract numbers are simply staggering. They feel like they're from the future or from another planet. If the numbers are accurate – and they appear to be, because Barcelona is now threatening to sue El Mundo – it is by far the largest contract in the history of professional sports.

In America, the nitty-gritty details of superstar mega sports contracts are made extremely public when the ink is barely dry. In Europe, superstar soccer contracts are frequently kept confidential. Prior to El Mundo's bombshell reports, most outlets (including CelebrityNetWorth) estimated that after signing a new contract with FC Barcelona in 2017, Lionel Messi's base salary jumped from $44 million to $80 million. That made him the highest-paid soccer player in the world, topping the $70 million Cristiano Ronaldo earns each year from Juventus. Technically, Ronaldo's base salary is just $36.4 million, but his contract is chock-full of easy-to-hit milestones that bring his earnings to the $70 – $80 million range.

Messi makes around $40 million per year from endorsements and other activities, so using the $80 million number, we typically estimate that he makes about $120 million per year. An extremely impressive sum. But, as it turns out, off by A LOT. According to El Mundo, the total value of Lionel Messi's 4-year contract is $674 million. Technically, since it's a European contract, the total value before converting to dollars is €555,237,619. He signed the deal in 2017 and it runs through June 30, 2021.

Contract Value Breakdown

Built into that $674 million is $140 million classified as a "renewal fee" – money paid just for accepting the contract and a $94 million "loyalty fee." El Mundo claims Messi has "earned €511,290,052 ($621m), almost 92 percent of the possible total" contract. He lost a chunk of money after COVID prevented him from hitting a handful of milestones.

Comparison with Other Record Contracts

Using the annual $168 million contract amount, Lionel Messi earns more in base salary in a single year than LeBron James ($40 million), Tom Brady ($25 million), Patrick Mahomes ($45 million), and Mike Trout ($35 million)… COMBINED. With $20 million left to spare!

Barcelona's Financial Situation

Another interesting revelation is that Barcelona is sitting on around $1.36 billion in debt, roughly 74% of which is from player salaries. El Mundo also reported that Messi has been actively trying to get out of his contract, even though he only has six months left.

Barcelona's Threat of Legal Action

This contract revelation is such a bombshell that Barcelona is actually threatening to sue El Mundo. In a statement, Barcelona said: "In view of the information published today in the newspaper El Mundo, in relation to the professional contract signed between FC Barcelona and the player Lionel Messi, the club regrets its publication given that it is a private document governed by the principle of confidentiality between the parties. FC Barcelona categorically denies any responsibility for the publication of this document and will take appropriate legal action against the newspaper El Mundo, for any damage that may be caused as a result of this publication."