Manchester City are reported to have offered Lionel Messi close to €1m per week (£850,000) over the course of a five-year contract, which would see the six-time Ballon d’Or winner earn €500m (£445m) in total including bonuses
That’s not all, either. An extra €250m (£223m) bonus would be given to Messi at the three-year mark, taking the total valuation of the five-year contract to a cool €750m (£669m) on City’s end.
SPORT claim that, in order to side-step Financial Fair Play rules, the €250m signing on bonus would be paid out on the third year to mark the move to New York, rather than up front.
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The Barcelona captain’s relationship with the club broke down further this weekend after he failed to show up for pre-season medical testing, and it is beginning to seem like the situation has reached the point of no return. Barcelona, as we know, are determined to hold onto their talisman, but he is prepared to fight them all the way to secure an exit.
If he does leave this summer then City are the firm favourites to be his next destination. His relationship with manager Pep Guardiola gives them the edge over the small handful of clubs who have the financial might to make a deal happen.
With reports rife that City have already agreed a contract offer with the Argentine, SPORT have shed some light on what has been agreed between the two parties. It’s said that Messi will sign a five-year contract with the City football group, and would spend three seasons with the Manchester Club, before moving to MLS – at which point he would be 36 – to end his career with New York City.
How much will he be earning? Well..
An offer of a reported €100m per season pre-tax is under consideration by Messi’s representatives, which would see him earn just under €1m per week after tax. That’s said to more or less match what he is currently on at Barcelona, and would make him comfortably the Premier League’s top-paid player.
On the other hand, you really wouldn’t want to be the contract negotiator responsible for mitigating the knock-on effects on City’s wage structure in the years ahead.
BBC SPORTS