Is Messi and Barca drifting apart over 45 million euros?

Contract extension negotiations between Barca and Lionel Messi's agent and father, Jorge Messi, have not yielded the desired results.

Did Messi leave Barca for 45 million euros?

Between 2005 and 2013, Lionel Messi renewed his contract with Barca six times, averaging more than one new contract per year. Naturally, the amount of money also increased significantly, with the most recent renewal reaching €13 million per year. Messi's current contract runs until 2018.

However, recently, the Barca management has begun contacting Messi and his father to negotiate a contract extension to prevent La Pulga from being snatched away by wealthy clubs. However, according to Marca, these negotiations are currently facing difficulties.

The first thing that caused the negotiations to stall was the huge difference in salary, amounting to 45 million euros over 5 years, equivalent to 9 million euros per year. Currently, Messi earns 13 million euros per year, and he wants to increase his income by another 9 million euros per year.

Negotiations between Barca and Messi are stalled due to the 45 million euro price tag.

In addition, there are also issues related to bonuses, television rights, and relationships with Messi's personal sponsors. It is known that the Barcelona management wants to own the full image rights of Messi instead of sharing a percentage as before. Furthermore, conflicts of interest are another reason, as Barca has Qatar Airways as a sponsor while Messi is currently partnered with Turkish Airlines.

With disagreements arising during negotiations, Messi's father is considering postponing meetings between the two sides to explore alternative solutions in the future.

Also related to Messi, this weekend the Argentine superstar will have the opportunity to become Barca's all-time leading scorer if he scores more than one goal against Osasuna. Currently, the 26-year-old striker has 368 goals for Barca in 452 matches (both official and friendly) since 2003 and is only behind the legendary Paulinho Alcantara - who scored 369 goals in 357 matches from 1912 to 1916 and 1918 to 1927.

According to Bongdaplus