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After Lionel Messi Signed, Who’s PSG’s Highest-Paid Player?

The dust has settled on the biggest transfer of the 2021 summer window, when Lionel Messi — the six-time world men’s player of the year — finally left Barcelona and joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer. Despite being 34, the Messi PSG contract money speaks to his continued standing as world’s best footballer.

It’s strange, having spent so long watching him wear the No. 10 for the blue and garnet, to now see him wearing No. 30 and the Jumpman, but we’ll have to get used to it as the Messi PSG contract length is a two-year deal (running until June 2023) with the option of an extra year.  

Messi PSG Contract Money 2021-2022

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When Lionel Messi’s previous Barcelona contract was leaked, it became apparent that the forward was effectively the sole driver of the 121-year-old club’s fortunes (both on the pitch and off it). Running from 2017 to 2021, that deal had a yearly salary of $161 million (including performance bonuses), a $135 million signing bonus and a $91 million loyalty payment.

With Barcelona’s debts making a new contract impossible, Messi has taken a big pay cut at PSG — although he’s still on a massive deal. According to AS, the Messi PSG contract money is roughly $42 million per season. 

PSG Salaries 2021-2022 Season

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Messi’s salary of $42 million makes him the highest paid at PSG, but just behind him is Neymar. The Brazilian recently signed an extension that’ll keep him in Paris until 2025, and it’s reportedly worth $36.5 million annually. 

In third is 22-year-old phenomenon Kylian Mbappé on a salary of roughly $29 million. However, the young Frenchman’s current deal expires at the end of this season, so the club will probably have to make Mbappé its highest-paid player if he’s to continue at the Parc des Princes. 

PSG’s other trio of summer signings — Sergio Ramos, Achraf Hakimi and Georginio Wijnaldum — are all beneath that on roughly $23.5 million per year.  

Lionel Messi Net Worth 2021

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According to Forbes, Messi earns around $35 million annually off his sponsorships with Adidas, Anheuser Busch InBev, Gatorade, Pepsi and others. Throughout his career, Messi has made more than $1 billion in total from his contracts, bonuses and endorsements.  

Lionel Messi PSG Transfer

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Even though the expiration of his contract was a clear warning, Messi’s move to PSG as a free agent still rocked the world of football. After 17 senior seasons with Barça, it was widely accepted that the Argentine would finish his career there — Joan Laporta’s successful bid for the presidency was entirely built off that promise.

But when it became apparent that Barcelona — a club that was already in financial distress before the pandemic — was beyond broke, Messi quickly went from elated after finally achieving success with Argentina to distraught when leaving the club’s Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper training center for the final time.

At PSG he’s quickly formed the “MNM” forward line (Mbappé-Neymar-Messi), and it’s either win the Champions League or be considered a disaster (which was already the expectation before Messi’s arrival).

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