In the summer of 2005, Txiki Begiristain was a man on a mission. A rising 18-year-old star called Lionel Messi had just made his debut for Barcelona, scored his first goal for the club and was shining at the Under-20 World Cup with Argentina.
Begiristain, the Barcelona sporting director who now holds a similar role at Manchester City, jumped on a plane to Utrecht where the tournament was being held. He had to make sure that Messi signed his first professional contract.
“We really trust in the player,” Begiristain said after reaching an agreement with Messi and his father, Jorge. “We are fully convinced that he’ll be very important in the first-team plans from now on. We hope he can change the rhythm and the dynamics of a lot of games.”
This contract was the first in a series of money-spinning deals that have made Messi one of the best-paid figures in sport. It is estimated that he will have earned close to £250 million in the past 16 years from his basic salary alone — without mentioning add-ons and image rights.
In September 2005, the Nou Camp played host to a friendly against Juventus. Managed by Fabio Capello, they were regarded as one of the best teams in Europe. But the Argentine teenager destroyed the Italians with a catalogue of tricks and dribbles.
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Begiristain and Joan Laporta, the Barcelona president, realised the contract they signed in Utrecht was not going to be enough to hold such a gem.
Capello inquired about Messi’s situation that night, while Inter Milan were already trying to seduce his entourage.
The Catalans reacted by offering Messi a second contract in the space of three months. The details of those contracts were never made public, but it is understood that the second deal brought Messi into the first-team wage bracket.
The following contract update arrived in 2007, but the biggest improvement was in 2008, with Frank Rijkaard managing the team and Ronaldinho still in the squad. Messi got his salary trebled and became one of the top earners, on €8.5million a year.
Pep Guardiola took over the following season, which delivered the La Liga title, Copa del Rey and Champions League. Messi was rewarded with an €11 million salary to become the world’s best-paid footballer.
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The 34-year-old has remained one of sport’s top earners. In 2014 his salary grew to €20 million and that doubled in 2017 to €40 million. Now, with debts reaching in excess of £1 billion and the club ordered to reduce their wage bill by La Liga, this contract has become unsustainable.
The deal Messi had agreed to sign was to include a 50 per cent wage cut for next season. This is still a vast sum but Barcelona insiders believe that the forward brings in more revenue than he costs in wages.
Sources from the club take for granted that, without Messi in the squad, it would be difficult to keep sponsors such as Nike or Rakuten with the same figures they now provide.
Yesterday it became clear that even with Messi taking a significant pay cut, Barcelona’s wage bill would still be too large to allow them to comply with La Liga rules and register new signings, such as Sergio Agüero and Memphis Depay.
Messi’s annual basic salary since 2005
June 2005 Undisclosed
September 2005 Undisclosed
2007 €3m
2008 €8.5m
2009 €11m
2013 €13m
2014 €20m
2017 €40m
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Best-paid athletes in 2021 (includes salary and sponsorships)
Conor McGregor (UFC) £130m
Lionel Messi (football) £94m
Cristiano Ronaldo (football) £87m
Dak Prescott (NFL) £78m
LeBron James (basketball) £70m
