Lionel Messi will earn somewhere between $50 million and $60 million when he joins Inter Miami, the MLS club’s part-owner Jorge Mas told Spanish publication El Pais in an interview, according to CNN.
Mas confirmed Messi’s payment is supplemented by the guarantee that he will be part of the organization’s ownership upon his retirement. He’ll also get a piece of the profits from MLS’s broadcasting deal with Apple TV and the team’s kit sales from Adidas. Mas added that negotiations to add Messi to the team lasted nearly three years and that fellow co-owner David Beckham was involved in the process but “only about the football side of things.”
Messi is expected to officially sign with Inter Miami soon, and there are plans for an introduction event on July 16, according to the Associated Press. Some tickets for the July 21 Leagues Cup match against Cruz Azul are available on secondary markets for more than $10,000 each, as fans expect Messi to make his Inter Miami debut in that matchup.
The reigning World Cup champion’s move to the MLS is highly anticipated and comes after a two-year stint with Paris Saint-Germain. Inter Miami is currently at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with a 5–1–13 record (16 points) this season.
