According to Football Espana. “The Argentine, along with teammates Carles Puyol and Xavi Hernandez , extended his stay at Camp Nou last week, signing a deal which apparently upped his wages to €16 million ($21.2 million) a year,” A report in yesterday’s Mundo Deportivo states that: “an unnamed Russian outfit attempted to hijack negotiations by offering Messi €30 million ($40 million) a year. The suitors were also apparently willing to meet the player’s colossal €250 million ($330.8 million) buyout clause.”
“Messi and his father [and agent] Jorge are said to have ignored the approach, choosing not to incorporate it into their discussions with the Catalan club or use it as leverage,” the report adds.
The unknown club could have been Anzhi Makhachkala, but it has not been confirmed. Anzhi, one of the world’s richest clubs, already has the world’s highest-paid player, Samuel Eto’o, on its books. The Cameroonian star reportedly makes 20.5 million Euros ($28.8 million) annually.
The value of Messi’s proposed contract would have dwarfed that figure by some measure. Messi’s new contract begins in July and ties him to the Catalan club until 2018 when he will be 31-years-old. There’s no indication that he wants to play for any other club. He joined Barcelona in 2000 when he was 13 and has been a regular in the first-team since 2004.
His latest deal is reportedly the sixth contract extension he has signed. Barcelona has more than recouped the value of its investment in Messi.
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