Madrid (AFP)

The current contract of Lionel Messi, the Argentinian superstar of FC Barcelona, ​​foresees more than 555 million euros of gross income for the captain of Barça between November 2017 and June 2021, revealed Sunday the Spanish general daily El Mundo.

"The pharaonic contract of Leo Messi which ruins FC Barcelona", titled El Mundo, and the daily to detail the astronomical figures of the contract signed in November 2017 by Messi, which will be at the end of the contract next June and wanted to leave the last summer.

According to El Mundo, this contract "amounts to 555,237,619 euros gross, to be received in four seasons (...) until its expiration, on June 30. This figure is the sum of his fixed salary, rights image, a series of bonuses of several million euros unseen to date, fees and a host of bonuses which depend on various objectives ".

"The player has already received 511,290,052 euros, almost 92% of the total to which he aspires," said El Mundo.

"The net amount, once all taxes have been applied (...) and social security deductions made, represents more than half of this sum: around 297 million euros", adds the newspaper.

Without counting the image rights, Messi thus pockets 138.8 M EUR gross (74.9 M EUR net) each year, according to El Mundo.

Or 380,299 euros gross per day (210,297 euros net).

- Barça denies "any responsibility" -

Just for signing a new contract with Barça, Messi automatically received an extension bonus of 97,941,250 euros, which he received in two installments, in December 2017 and then December 2018. At the same time, his release clause rose from 250 to 700 million euros.

In the event that he wins the Champions League, Messi would pocket a bonus of 3,548,644 euros, which has not yet happened since he signed this new contract.

On the other hand, if he wins La Liga (which has happened twice since November 2017, in 2018 and in 2019), the bonus is 2,365,766 euros.

And if he lifts the King's Cup (which has happened once since the signing of this contract, in 2018), the bonus is 591,442 euros.

Messi's contract with Barça, 30 pages long, is the "biggest contract in the history of sport" according to the Spanish daily.

It had been kept secret until today.

These revelations are causing a sensation in Catalonia, in a seriously indebted club and still without a president (the elections have been postponed to March 7 due to the pandemic), only five months before the end of the Pulga's contract (the chip, in Spanish ), and while Messi has been officially authorized to negotiate with other clubs since January 1, 2021.

"FC Barcelona categorically denies any responsibility for the publication of the professional contract (of Lionel Messi) and will take legal action against + El Mundo +", announced the club Sunday at midday, in a statement.

Messi wanted to leave Barça in the summer of 2020 after the slap received against Bayern Munich (8-2) in the Champions League quarter-final in Lisbon.

He had been forced to stay by former President Josep Maria Bartomeu, who has since resigned.

© 2021 AFP