Following the leak of Lionel Messi's contract figures with Barcelona by the publication El Mundo, the team captain is reportedly preparing to file legal action against the newspaper, according to RAC1.
While it is unclear where the source of the leak sprang from, Barcelona has categorically denied any involvement in the publication of Lionel Messi's contract details. Nevertheless, many observers have pointed out that the report's timing is suspicious.
With Lionel Messi said to be mulling his future with the club, the leak of a reported 555 million-euro contract could be an attempt by Barcelona to pressure the player publicly into remaining in Spain.
Legal ramifications aside, the figures presented by El Mundo show that Lionel Messi received a contract that was easily the biggest in the history of sports. Estimated to receive a maximum of $673,919,105 over four years (that's the U.S. dollar conversion from 555 million Euros), Messi and the club agreed to the deal in November of 2017, with the end date expected to come in June.
The Lionel Messi news also comes amidst additional reporting that the club is in dire financial trouble thanks to mismanagement by the previous board of directors, lead by Josep Maria Bartomeu. While a drop in revenue from the Covid-19 pandemic hit the organization hard, the club is over a billion Euros in debt, with most of the finances dedicated to players' salaries.
According to Sid Lowe of ESPN, the team has dedicated over 74% of its operating budget to wages, with Lionel Messi's contract taking up a significant bulk of that.
Unless the club can restructure its burgeoning debt, it wouldn't be a surprise to them go hat in hand to Lionel Messi. This is an earthquake within the Spanish La Liga, but also in the larger overall theater of global international football. How this situation is resolved, with all the ripple effects throughout La Liga and the football community (within and beyond Europe), will be fascinating to watch.
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