You don't get to Lionel Messi's level without earning a few euros along the way.
As one of soccer's living legends, the Barcelona star draws a handsome salary that puts him among the highest-earning athletes in the world. He also earns hefty sums from endorsements, meaning Messi makes nearly as much off the field as he does when he's terrorizing opposing defences at Camp Nou.
Hefty as it may be, Barca's investment in Messi has paid off in droves — the six-time Ballon d'Or winner has led the Catalans to 10 La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League crowns and more. He's La Liga's all-time leading scorer with an astonishing 444 goals, and he trails only Cristiano Ronaldo on the all-time Champions League scoring charts.
Needless to say, those kinds of numbers have made Messi an extremely expensive commodity, one that Barca was only too happy to keep investing in. But with Messi's transfer request earlier this week shocking the sporting world, fans have begun to imagine the iconic Argentine in another club's colours.
Any move would have massive financial repercussions, both for Barca and whichever club ultimately wins Messi's signature.
But what kind of numbers are we talking about? Let's take a look.
How much does Messi make at Barcelona?
It comes as no surprise that Messi exists in a financial stratosphere rarely reached by any other athlete in history, but the numbers are still staggering to look at.
The 33-year-old has one year left on his current deal, with Barcelona set to pay him around €78 million ($92M USD) for the season. This comes after Messi and the rest of the Barcelona players took a 70 percent pay cut during the pandemic-affected 2019-20 season, but don't feel bad for him as he still hauled in over €9M ($11M USD) in base salary for the campaign.
What is Messi's net worth?
According to Forbes, in addition to the aforementioned salary, Messi also pulls in about €28M ($33M USD) annually through endorsement deals with companies like Adidas, Lays and MasterCard, but that would likely remain unchanged wherever he ends up.
With his deals and salary, Forbes estimated his earnings at $104M USD (€88M), putting him sixth on its ranking of highest-paid celebrities for 2020.
Meanwhile, Celebrity Net Worth estimates Messi's net worth at $400M USD (€338M).
How much will it cost for another team to sign Messi?
The answer to this one is tricky as there are a lot of variables.
First off, does Messi's next team have to pay a transfer fee? If so, that'll be upwards of €100-200M ($118-236M USD) right off the bat as Barca will be loathe to let its talisman leave without receiving a princely sum in return. If he can walk for free, as he feels the right to do with the much talked about termination clause in his current contract, then the hit to his future club's wallet will be much lighter.
Even assuming he does leave Barcelona for free, one would have to think he'd remain the highest-paid footballer on Earth wherever he ends up. That €78M annual wage he was set to earn this year will likely go up as clubs try to sweeten the pot in order to get Messi to leave the only professional club he's ever known. And it wouldn't be just this year — he'd seek a multi-year deal, meaning a nine-figure total investment just to cover his salary.
Let's assume he goes to either Manchester City or PSG — the two teams rumoured to have the best shot at enticing him out of Spain — and he averages €80M ($95M USD) per year in wages. That means over three years he'll earn €240M ($284 USD) at his new club.
If the new club has to pay, let's say, a €150M ($177 USD) transfer fee, the total cost for landing Messi would be pushing €400M ($473M USD).
It sounds crazy, but if anyone is worth it — it's Lionel Messi.