Looking back at FC Barcelona’s performance in recent years, which player comes to mind first for being astonishingly unique with his left foot? If it is not Lionel Messi, then this is perhaps not an ideal read for you.
A Spanish newspaper, El Mundo, recently published a leaked copy of Messi’s contract signed in 2017. This publication brought a kerfuffle in the football world. The contract was worth €555,237,619. Arguably, this figure gave rise to speculations that are blaming Messi for the club’s financial crisis. The contract, which is ending this summer, is a total of Messi’s fixed salary, bonuses, and image rights. Experts claim that 92% of this amount has already been earned.
Messi is roughly drawing over $80 million yearly through his 2020-2021 contract. The question here arises; is it worth it? Let’s look at the facts and see if we can find a reasonable answer:
FC Barcelona has been atrociously mismanaged both on a financial and tactical level by the recent board. The cherry on top was the former president Josep Bartomeu, who, with his entrepreneurial mindset, made a number of transfer deals that didn’t reap the same commercial benefits that the club might have anticipated.
People who have been religiously watching Messi play for Barcelona surely know that the Catalans will fail to deliver without his presence. With his one-person show, he has saved the sinking ship of the club countless times. Breaking all kinds of scoring
records and bringing truckloads of goals and winning games, the talisman single-handedly generates almost one-third of the club’s revenue every year. Then why is he not entitled to a large share of the lot? Who deserves it more than the best of all?
Dan and Francesc tried to answer this questions themselves on the latest edition of the podcast:
He has changed the trajectory of the club. On days when he is not dominating the game, he remains the last hope for the team. Even on his bad days, he manages to put on a show many footballers can only dream of. The man is an asset; he is a Messiah for the club. Yet, whether it’s money, transfers, or chemistry with other players, Lionel Messi is always on the verge of criticism.
Without an iota of doubt, any club in the world would go miles to sign Lionel Messi. If he was a financial burden, the club would have let him leave when he was devastated and desperate to escape.
During the crucial financial mess, the player with the most club goals and most for one club, Lionel Messi, has been chosen to be the scapegoat for the shortcomings of poor management. While the fans are genuinely gutted, they wholeheartedly believe that their Messiah is worth every cent.
This was a guest post by Maha Naeem Khan. Give her a follow on Twitter!
