Lionel Messi, who is desperate to leave Barcelona, could have landed at Manchester City, but if that happens, The Citizens will have to provide large funds for the megastar’s salary.
Man City is the club most favored to bring Messi because it has Pep Guardiola, the coach who was successful with Messi at Barcelona from 2008 to 2012.
The problem of moving Messi is stuck on the different interpretations of the contract. The player sees himself as being able to leave freely (free transfer), while the club assesses that any club that wants Messi to come must provide 700 million euros.
If Messi can be brought in without a transfer fee, Man City is still expected to have to pay a high price for the star through a salary instrument that will be tampered with by the player’s agent, as stated by financial expert Dr Robert Wilson.
“It would be advantageous for him [Messi] to come for free. That could be an excuse to generate a higher salary. The football club will look at the total cost not just the transfer fee. So it is the transfer fee plus the agent fee,” said Wilson.
“If City have 100 million pounds to complete the deal, but there is no transfer fee, then Messi is likely to be brought in,” he continued.
Currently Messi can earn 26 million pounds per year, purely from income on the field. If he moves to England, Messi will probably not earn as much as in Spain.
Even though The Citizens have the ability to bid on the salary of a player who has scored more than 600 goals for Barcelona, the Manchester Blue club must provide more funds to pay Messi.
According to sports lawyer Stephen Taylor Heath, Messi’s presence on the pitch cannot be separated from off-field copyright which also affects salaries.
“For someone like Messi, he is in the same group as David Beckham where his image is as important as him playing football so it will be a 50:50 split between what he gets for football and the image rights that the club pays,” Heath said. Daily Mail.
For this reason, Wilson estimates Messi’s salary will reach 600 thousand pounds per week in addition to other bonuses such as goals, assists, or the success of winning the title. Wilson also assessed that Messi’s bonus would be different from other Man City players such as Kevin de Bruyne or Raheem Sterling.
In order to cover the cost of paying the salary, Man City is expected to increase the selling price of tickets and maximize Messi’s presence to get higher broadcast rights. The Man City jersey provider company is also said to be the lucky party with Messi’s arrival so that it will pay more than the previously agreed cooperation contract.
But in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic that is not over yet, Wilson also considered Man City’s operation to bring Messi at a high risk.
“I don’t think anyone can pay for the package. I don’t see someone working hard for him, which is clearly not in the Premier League and especially in the current climate.”
“Currently Premier League clubs are more careful. The club’s financial condition has not progressed because of Covid,” he explained.
