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All the big clubs in the world would want Lionel Messi. Some players are too good and too exciting to turn down if the opportunity arises that they become available. However, there is only one major problem with Messi. Or, to be more precise, 100 million of them.
Whenever you find yourself in the company of a top executive at one of football’s super clubs, the conversation always turns to Messi and the fantasy of whether they would try to sign the Barcelona captain if he ever decided to leave the Camp Nou. One of those figures laughed late last year when asked about Messi’s prospects for his club. “We would all love Messi,” said the executive. “But he makes £ 100 million a year in Barcelona, so he would have to take a pretty big pay cut if he ever left.”
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Despite all of Messi’s incredible talents, his purchasing power is the only thing that can overshadow his ability with the ball at his feet if he really wants to leave Barcelona this summer.
Even in normal times, paying a player half of Messi’s current salary would be a challenge for all the big clubs who would evaluate their chances of signing him. But in 2020, when football clubs see their cash flow affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Messi’s numbers just don’t add up, even for teams like Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Manchester. . United.
Man City would seem like the obvious destination given the club’s connection to Barcelona with coach Pep Guardiola, CEO Ferran Soriano and director of football, Txiki Begiristain, but he just avoided a two-year La Liga ban. of Champions after revoking a UEFA sanction for violating the Financial Fair. By the rules of the game, the club’s accounts will be under such close scrutiny that it will be virtually impossible for them to finance a play for Messi.
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There may be a way to make it work; say, obtaining a sponsor willing to pay whatever it takes to partner with the club that signs Messi. It would be difficult for UEFA, or anyone else, to argue that an annual sponsorship of £ 100 million was even inflated, because there is simply nothing to compare it to.
Meanwhile, sources have told ESPN that United lose between 4 and 5 million pounds each time a match is played without paying supporters at Old Trafford during the COVID-19 crisis. Their Premier League rivals will suffer a similar deficit and with all top-flight clubs in England due to paying a refund of roughly £ 20 million to the league’s broadcasters, for big clubs like United and City the revenue will soon count. lost on game day. in the region of £ 50 million. That’s a huge financial hole for any business to deal with, and the losses won’t be limited to money coming in through turnstiles and TV companies.
Lionel Messi would be a sensation on any team if he actually leaves Barcelona, but clubs will have a hard time paying him back as the sport readjusts amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Rafael Marchante / Pool via Getty Images
All the major clubs in Europe will have to cut their clothes accordingly this summer. Some will argue that Chelsea are breaking the mold with their business so far on Hakim Ziyech and Timo Werner, but that they were unable to spend the 100 million euros raised from Eden Hazard’s move to Real Madrid last year as a result of a ban on transfers around the world, the Stamford Bridge side is simply using money that has been in a bank vault for the past 12 months. No one else has caused quite a stir in the transfer market, and much of that is because many in the game believe that soccer has yet to come to terms with the financial correction that lies ahead.
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So if Messi is really opening up to offers, either as a free agent through a contractual option or as a player requesting a transfer fee, it is understood that his buyout clause is 700 million euros, he could not having chosen a worse time. to find a distance from Barcelona.
If Messi had been 27 years old and at the peak of his powers, some club might have opined that the Argentine was worth the huge outlay. Analyzing the numbers for a 27-year-old with many years ahead of him is a different story than trying to make it work for a 33-year-old.
As Cristiano Ronaldo (35) and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (38) have shown, and continue to do, greatness has no expiration date and Messi would certainly give any new club a massive injection of star quality and ability to win matches. But at 33, there would be no resale value with Messi and time would run towards him delivering success and silver. And when it comes to selling shirts by paying your salary, all the clubs have long realized that this particular myth does not correspond to reality.
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The biggest source of income for super clubs is, and always has been, success on the pitch, and even Messi can’t guarantee it. Barcelona didn’t win anything last season and haven’t won the Champions League since 2015. And let’s not forget that Messi couldn’t prevent the collapse of the Champions League in Rome in 2018, the semi-final collapse in Liverpool in 2019 and his 8- 2 in the hands of Bayern in Lisbon.
So when everything is taken into account, it is difficult to make a solid financial case for signing Messi from Barcelona this summer. Unless, of course, you decide that you are so determined to find a new challenge that you are prepared to accept only a tenth of what you earn right now.
If that happens, Messi would jump to the top of every club’s summer hit list. But don’t expect that soon. Right now he’s a £ 100 million a year player before a transfer fee was discussed, so good luck finding a willing and able club to make a deal.
Source: espn.co.uk
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