Saudi Arabia increase Lionel Messi’s contract offer to €500m
Saudi Arabia increase Lionel Messi’s contract offer to €500m
Lionel Messi has reportedly seen the contract offer that he has on the table from Saudi Arabia raised to €500 million (£435m/$541m).
The Argentine superstar is in the process of mulling over his options as he approaches the end of a two-year deal at Paris Saint-Germain. With an extension to those terms yet to be agreed at Parc des Princes, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner is preparing to hit free agency.
Barcelona are looking to bring Lionel Messi back this summer, but they will not be able to rely on money to persuade him. Competing for his signature is the largest offer made to any footballer ever, according to Jaume Roures.
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Roures, who is head of Mediapro and holds the broadcasting rights for La Liga, told Cadena SER (via MD) that Messi’s offer had risen. Previously reports had put the figure at around €400m for a two-year contract, but Roures stated that they had increased their offer by an extra €100m, and would be willing to pay that much for just a single year of Messi. Al Hilal has been spoken about as a candidate for Messi, but there are various clubs that could pitch for him.
These mind-boggling figures are hard to get your head around. For context, Barcelona is thought to be offering somewhere around €14m per year for Messi, over 35 times less than what Roures claims Messi would earn in the Middle East.
Barcelona has admitted to holding talks with Messi’s representatives, with club president Joan Laporta vowing to do all he can to put a stunning agreement in place, but well-documented financial struggles for the newly-crowned La Liga champions are making it difficult for them to agree on a deal.