MX23RW : Wednesday, December 25 07:27:56| >> :60:1304:1304:

Barcelona 'will owe Lionel Messi £30m even if he leaves for free'

Barcelona will reportedly have to pay Lionel Messi a £30m loyalty bonus next summer even if he decides to leave the club.

Barcelona will reportedly have to pay Lionel Messi a €33m (£30m) loyalty bonus next summer even if he decides to leave the club on a free transfer.

The Argentina international attempted to leave Camp Nou over the summer, but the Catalan giants were not prepared to allow him to depart 12 months before the end of his contract.

Messi will be free to seek pastures new next June, though, and Manchester City are believed to be the favourites to sign him, providing that Barca do not manage to convince him to pen fresh terms.

According to ESPN, Barca will owe the 33-year-old a €33m (£30m) loyalty bonus as part of the contract that he signed in 2017.

The report claims that the South American received half of the €66m (£60m) bonus in February and is due to receive the second part when his deal officially expires at the end of June.

Messi would have allegedly given up the payment had he left Camp Nou in the recent transfer window.

ID:422378: cacheID:422378:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:1844:
Written by
Matt Law
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola pictured on November 8, 2020
Read Next:
Guardiola closing in on new Man City contract?
>
Read more about Lionel Messi Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool16123137162139
2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1733112740-1312
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1713131136-256


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!