Barcelona is still paying Messi, will do so until 2025

 Barcelona is still paying Messi, will do so until 2025

Lionel "Leo" Messi attends a press conference to talk about his departure from FC Barcelona at Camp Nou stadium on August 08, 2021, in Barcelona, Spain.(Getty)

Lionel Messi left Barcelona in 2021. In these two years, he has traveled far and wide. After spending two seasons at PSG, Messi is now expected to join Inter Miami in the United States. Barcelona is now a golden past for him. However, the memories of that 'golden past' still hold Messi's bond with the club intact.

No, we are not talking about sentimental matters. The subject is financial. Barcelona President Joan Laporta gave an interview to the Spanish media outlet 'La Vanguardia.' Laporta revealed in that interview that Messi is still receiving regular payments from Barcelona, "adhering to the contract."

Whose money? The subject needs a bit of explanation. Barcelona could not offer Messi a new contract due to the salary limit policy of La Liga and financial constraints. That's why Messi joined PSG as a free agent in 2021.

His contract with Barcelona ended on June 30 of that year. Prior to that, the Spanish media outlet 'El Mundo' had published some leaked documents claiming that Messi's contract with Barcelona was the highest-ever in the history of sports.

According to their report, Messi was supposed to earn 60 crore 42 lakh dollars during his four seasons at Barcelona. But after Messi left Barcelona and joined PSG for free, the Spanish media outlet 'Sport' reported in August that the Argentine star still owed money to the Catalan club in terms of his salary. And that amount was $5 crore 66 lakh.

Barcelona had planned to fully repay that amount within 2022. In July of that year, Laporta informed that there is still an outstanding balance of Messi's unpaid salary with Barcelona.

In the interview with 'La Vanguardia,' Laporta talked about this matter. He wanted to know from the Barcelona president whether Messi has received his money or not from his previous club. Laporta said that Messi still has a pending payment with the board of Josep Maria Bartomeu, which will be fully settled in 2025.