Cost-Benefit Weighs in Favor of Messi at PSG
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Established 1961 Sport TUESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2021 Cost-benefit weighs in favor of Messi at PSG PARIS: Barcelona could not afford to wages included, earns an after-tax keep Lionel Messi but Paris Saint- salary of 30 million euros annually Germain have made their move for the according to documents released in 34-year-old and, while the cost of the 2018 by Football Leaks. deal may be astronomical, it is still likely Messi, nicknamed “La Pulga” (the to be a very smart bit of business if or flea), boosts overall annual earnings to when it goes through. around 110 million euros thanks to lucra- Barca — swimming in debt of 1.2 bil- tive sponsorships with the likes of Pepsi lion euros ($1.4 billion) — ultimately and Adidas, ahead of the likes of long- found themselves in a no-win situation time La Liga rival Cristiano Ronaldo, with their talisman. Keeping him would LeBron James or Roger Federer. have maintained salaries at an untenable “We’re on another planet here — it’s 110 percent of revenue. stratospheric” with Messi, says sports Even letting him go leaves that figure marketing analyst Virgile Caillet, adding at 95 percent with the Catalan club a a putative arrival at the Parc des Princes prime example of how living beyond would constitute “an event such as (has one’s means eventually ends in the tears happened) only once or twice in football Messi shed Sunday in confirming his — with (Diego) Maradona when he departure, Barca unable to defy financial signed for Napoli or (Zinedine) Zidane gravity any longer. going to Real.” An annual salary north of 70 million euros ($82 million) net per season, while French ‘Galacticos’ breaking Spanish league salary cap PSG have essentially taken over the requirements, was a price that made Real Madrid mantle of the home for sense for Barcelona. Marc Ciria, director “galacticos” — megastars whose global general of Diagonal Inversiones consul- status lifts their clubs to another level. tancy, recently calculated Messi generat- Although the pandemic knocked a 125 ed some 235 million euros more than he million-euro dent in PSG’s finances earned over the past four years. across 2019-20 alone, the club’s owner- Qatari-owned PSG, who bought ship by Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) Messi’s close friend Neymar from means their pockets are deep enough to Barcelona for 222 million euros in 2017, close a deal. LE BOURGET: Supporters try to spot an aircraft that just landed as they gather outside Le Bourget airport, north of Paris, as can afford the Argentinian wizard, who The recent relaxation of UEFA’s Argentinian football player Lionel Messi was expected to arrive yesterday. — AFP they see as the final piece in the jigsaw financial fair play rules because of the to land a first Champions League crown. pandemic helps too. “That leaves more ber of additional revenue streams which affordable,” smiled Caillet. For Caillet, Messi will lift them to margin than previously,” says flow almost automatically: derivative A decade into their ownership of even greater heights on and off the ‘Stratospheric’ Christophe Lepetit, director of France’s merchandise, ticketing, partnerships. It’s PSG, QSI have pushed a policy of cap- pitch. “A second stage was needed for Messi, who had agreed to a 50 per- Centre for the Law and Economics of an unmissable opportunity.” turing big names — even those in the the PSG rocket. Messi will bring an cent wage cut with Barcelona and a five- Sport in Limoges. A further plus compared with the 400 twilight of their careers, notably David acceleration,” says Caillet. “It seems year deal taking him to the age of 39, is Getting Messi aboard would mean million euros shelled out in 2017 to buy Beckham and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. PSG paradoxical given his age — but Messi reputedly being offered some 40 million PSG “developing new marketing Neymar and Kylian Mbappe is the fact are the seventh-richest club in the world incarnates PSG’s future both economi- euros a year over two seasons in Paris approaches. That dovetails perfectly PSG don’t have to pay a transfer fee for according to the most recent Deloitte cally and in sporting terms,” says Caillet with the possibility of a third. with the PSG strategy,” says Caillet. the out-of-contract Messi. “In terms of Football Money League, still trailing the as “his arrival brings together three Neymar, whose transfer will ultimate- “Messi is a cast-iron guarantee. From the amortization (costs) there is just the likes of Barca, Real Madrid, Bayern iconic brands — Paris, Jordan (PSG’s kit ly cost PSG more than 500 million euros moment you recruit him you have a num- salary — I’d say that makes it much more Munich and Manchester United. manufacturer) and Messi.” — AFP.