The details of Lionel Messi's bumper contract with Inter Miami have emerged, with the superstar forward set to earn an eye-watering $150million in wages alone.
Earlier this month, the Argentinian forward stunned the sport by snubbing the advances of former club FC Barcelona and the riches of the Saudi Pro League to join David Beckham's fledgling MLS franchise. With the 35-year-old having spent his whole professional career in Europe so far, the move to the USA will allow him to see out the twilight years of his career in the coastal city where he already owns a property.
Following 43 trophies for club and country, including the iconic World Cup win in Qatar in 2022, it would be fair to say that the departing Paris Saint-Germain star arrives with an unrivalled reputation and his legacy in the game secure. As such, his services have not exactly come cheap for his new employers, in spite of the fact that his basic salary is still dwarfed by the £522 million that was on offer to join old foe Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia.
In the end, the former Barcelona ace has opted to take the offer of a move to MLS, where he will instead earn $150 million (£117.6m) as part of a deal which will take him through to June 2025. These terms also include an option to extend this by a further year, as per Sportico.
Broken down, this initial figure consists of the player's salary, alongside his signing bonus as well as equity. This does not include any commercial partnerships, however, which are set to make his contract a considerably more lucrative venture.
As previously explained by the Athletic, revenue-sharing agreements have also been struck with commercial giants such as Adidas and Apple, who have pre-existing partnerships with MLS. In the case of Adidas, it is thought that Messi will receive a proportion of the money made through merchandise sales after his signing.
Given that the German sportswear colossus currently supplies kit to 29 teams in the MLS, along with footwear and balls, it is clear that the agreement could well prove incredibly remunerative for all parties. On top of this, it is expected that the veteran attacker will also net a favourable share of the revenue gleaned from any increase in sales of Apple TV +, which streams MLS games currently via the Season Pass.
In an interview with Barcelona-based publications Mundo Deportivo and Sport, the superstar previously explained his decision to pursue a move to the US, especially after a Blaugrana return appeared to be off the table. He said: "I’ve made the decision that I’m going to Miami. It’s still not a done deal 100 per cent.
"I’m missing a few things but we’ve decided to keep going down the path. If the Barcelona thing didn’t work out, I wanted to leave Europe, leave the spotlight and focus more on my family."
Messi is expected to officially sign for Inter Miami on July 4 and is due to play his first game for his new club against Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup later that month on July 21. Such is the fanfare surrounding his impending arrival, tickets for this fixture against the Mexican outfit sold out within hours of the announcement that he would be signing for the Herons.
