The breakup between Barcelona and Lionel Messi will always be remembered as a tremendously sad and frustrating event, with the image of the Argentinian in floods of tears during his final press conference seared into the minds of millions of football fans.
He didn't want to go but the financial mismanagement of the previous regime under Josep Maria Bartomeu meant Messi was out of the door and swiftly off to Paris Saint-Germain.
There are few players in football quite so synonymous with a single club, but Messi is right up there. He may be on his second club since leaving Camp Nou, but he will always be viewed as a Barça player who, for some reason, is elsewhere now.
That makes it all the more sad that he is still owed deferred wages by the club he adores.
How much money do Barcelona owe Lionel Messi?
Current Barcelona president Joan Laporta recently discussed Barcelona's wage debt to Messi, saying: "We owe Messi money until 2025 as he deferred his salary under the previous board."
Many players at Barcelona were asked to defer wages in 2020 when the club found itself in serious financial trouble. According to Barca Universal, Messi is currently owed €50m in unpaid wages by one of the biggest clubs in the world.
He is one of several players who took a personal financial hit for the club during the COVID-19 pandemic and is yet to get that money back.
Messi's contract at the time was worth up to €138m a year once the potential bonuses were factored in, and Laporta revealed more details of this to La Vanguardia (via AS), saying: "[Do] we owe any money to Messi? The only thing we owe are the salary deferrals that were agreed with the previous board of the club. This is producing pending payments that will come to an end in 2025. We are paying everything religiously."
The deferrals made by a group of players in 2020 supposedly saved the club up to €172m, but they are still far from out of the financial woods given they were pulling economic levers only a year ago and Messi still hasn't been fully paid back yet.
What will Lionel Messi earn at Inter Miami?
While it is sad from a personal perspective that Messi's time at Barcelona ended like it did and there is a principle involved with the money he is still owed, let's not get too upset over Messi's currently absent €50m.
Now that Messi is joining Inter Miami in Major League Soccer, he is set to earn a salary of £43m and his presence in Miami will aid the fact that he owns a lot of property in the Florida city. There were reports suggesting that while Messi will get £43m a year, part of the deal also involves lucrative sponsorship contracts with Apple and adidas.
He could have earned a lot more if he took the Saudi Arabian offer on the table. That would have seen him earn £344m a year at Al-Hilal and given Messi is an ambassador for Saudi Arabia, there is some surprise he turned those terms down.
Lionel Messi's record at Barcelona
The numbers Messi put up during his 16 seasons with Barcelona will never be repeated and could have been added to. He almost rejoined the club in 2023 but the finances were too complicated, which is hardly a surprise.
READ MORE ON LIONEL MESSI'S MOVE TO INTER MIAMI
This article was originally published on 90min as How much money Barcelona owe Lionel Messi in deferred wages.
