Why Barcelona Will Continue To Pay Messi Until 2025 – Laporta Reveal

More than two years after leaving Barcelona, Lionel Messi is still receiving compensation, and Barcelona will do so at least through the year 2025.

The club is still obligated to pay money to Messi for another two years, according to a statement from Barcelona president Joan Laporta.

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Despite Messi’s failure to secure a return to the Camp Nou this summer, he left for Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2021 and is currently a player for Inter Miami.

In an interview with Spanish radio’s Cadena SER when discussing how Barca missed out on a reunion with Messi, Laporta was asked if the club still owed money to the player and said ‘everything is agreed with him’. The club’s financial difficulties ensured they couldn’t offer Messi a contract this summer.

But now he’s added to those comments, clarifying the situation: “[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.”

It all adds up to a lucrative position for Messi, who, although turning down a contract to a Saudi Pro League club after leaving Paris Saint-Germain, is also paid by Saudi Arabian officials for commercial appearances.

Instead, he agreed to a two-and-a-half-year deal with Inter Miami that is reportedly worth between $125 million and $150 million (£100 million and £120 million).

Now that his PSG contract has legally expired (as of June 30), Messi is a player of Inter Miami, and his debut for his new team may come in the Leagues Cup home game against Cruz Azul on July 21.