Paris (AFP)
The possible arrival of superstar Lionel Messi at Paris SG may seem like madness for a club with finances strained by the pandemic, but the Argentinian's global aura provides income that can cushion its cost.
Without having yet signed to PSG (a "possibility" according to him), the attacker is already heating up the calculators.
With a salary estimated by the French press at around 40 million euros net per year, Messi would sail in the same waters as Neymar (36 million EUR).
He was so far the highest paid footballer in history in France.
Globally, Messi has very few equivalents: the specialist magazine Forbes ranks him second among the highest paid athletes in 2021, behind MMA star Conor McGregor.
The "Pulga" with giant revenues (110 M EUR in all), sponsored in particular by Pepsi and Adidas, is ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James or Roger Federer.
"We are on another planet, it's stratospheric", an arrival of Messi would be "an event as it happened one or two in football, with Maradona when he signed in Naples, or Zidane at Real", advance Virgil Caillet, general delegate of Union Sport et Cycle, the leading professional organization in the sport and leisure sector.
Already equipped with a star locker room, PSG have planned to move away the walls to make room for the new Argentine "God", by finding the key to a complex financial equation.
- Welcome superstars -
This key is in the pocket of the wealthy Qatari owner (Qatar Sports Investments), solid enough to offset the hundreds of millions of euros in losses linked to the Covid-19 pandemic (125 M EUR just for the 2019-20 season ).
The coach of Paris SG, Mauricio Pochettino (L), the sporting director of the club Leonardo (C) and its president Nasser Al-Khelaïfi after the victory of Paris SG in the final of the Coupe de France against Monaco, May 19, 2021 FRANCK FIFE AFP
But this recruitment is also made possible by the adjustment of the rules of financial fair play, which prohibited European clubs from spending more than they earn.
"This leaves more room than before," analyzes Christophe Lepetit, head of economic studies at the Center for Sports Law and Economics (CDES) in Limoges.
Messi is also the promise to "develop new marketing approaches. It fits perfectly into the strategy of PSG", continues the expert.
“Messi, that's for sure. As soon as you recruit him, you have an almost mechanical number of additional revenues: derivatives, ticketing, partners. It's an unmissable opportunity,” adds Virgile Caillet.
Unlike Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, bought for more than 400 M EUR in the summer of 2017, PSG would not have to pay transfer compensation to FC Barcelona: the player is free.
Brazilian striker Neymar poses next to Paris Saint-Germain president Qatari Nasser Al-Khelafi during his official presentation on August 4, 2017 at Parc des Princes PHILIPPE LOPEZ AFP / Archives
"For the question of depreciation, there is only the salary, it is much more affordable, if I may say so," smiles Mr. Caillet.
Arrived in 2011, QSI has often relied on the reputation of the stars that it pays dearly to increase the power of its brand, from David Beckham to Mbappé, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Neymar.
- "Acceleration" -
Today, the Parisian club, which prides itself on being that of the new generation, is one of the 50 most valued professional sports brands in the world, according to Forbes, which still places Real, Barça, Bayern or Manchester ahead of it. City.
Messi can change the situation: "The PSG rocket needed a second stage. Messi would bring an acceleration", explains Mr. Caillet, who estimates that the Argentinian can sell "200 to 300,000 additional jerseys."
Customers of the official FC Barcelona store examine the shirts of Argentine striker Lionel Messi, August 7, 2021 at Camp Nou, two days after the announcement of his departure from club Pau BARRENA AFP
"It may be paradoxical given his age (34), but Messi embodies the future of PSG, both economic and sporting," continues the expert.
"His arrival would bring together three iconic brands: Paris, Jordan (the supplier of PSG, Nike sub-brand, Editor's note) and Messi."
The alignment of the planets would also be good news in the sky of French football, crossed for months by all kinds of storms, between stadiums behind closed doors and TV rights renegotiated downward.
An arrival of Messi would open prospects for an increase in international TV rights (around EUR 80m per year), an area in which Ligue 1 lags behind its foreign competitors.
© 2021 AFP