Lionel Messi's 'signing bonus' for staying at Barcelona
could be as high as a record-breaking £80million and the club hope to
have a naming-rights sponsor for the Nou Camp as early as next season to
help them pay for it.
It is normal for
clubs to add a signing-on fee or a renewal bonus in contracts but
Messi's – estimated to be between £79m and £85m – is believed to be the
highest ever.
In a special report in Catalan paper L'Ara
this week it was claimed Barcelona's wage bill as a percentage of
overall revenue is now at 84 per cent, up to £430m, although Messi's
contract sweetener is not included in that figure because it's a bonus
payment spread across the years of his new deal and not paid as part of
his wage.
Barca are hopeful of announcing a new Nike
deal next year as they try to further boost revenue to meet the wages
and bonuses bill and the Nou Camp could have a sponsor's name added to
it for the new season.
Work on the 'New
Camp Nou' is not scheduled to start until 2019 but the stadium could be
given a new name as early as 2018 with the company Van Wagner already
studying the field of options.
The club
could put the potential new sponsor's name to directors and supporters
at the start of the new year. Any deal would involve a brand name being
attached to the club's stadium for the next 25 years and raise up to
£179m.
Because of Messi's hat-trick against Ecuador this week Argentina will not need to play a World Cup qualifier in November.
They
may still organise friendlies for next month but there is an increased
chance that Messi will have a potential window of opportunity to sign
his new £500,000-per-week contract in the next international break.
The deal that takes him to 2021 with the
club has already been signed by his father Jorge and his brother Rodrigo
but is still missing his signature.
Messi
has been reluctant to sit down with Barcelona's under-fire president
Josep Bartomeu and give him what would be a 'vote of confidence'
opportunity.
Messi is undecided as to
whether November would be the right time to bring an end to speculation
over his future. He could opt to sign the new deal with no photograph.
That
would calm supporters' nerves over the possibility of him negotiating
with new clubs in January. But it would also mean the president does not
get the opportunity to parade Messi's signing as personal success.
Meanwhile,
the club's chief executive Oscar Grau has been criticised for saying
Barcelona have the money to sign Philippe Coutinho in January.
Mundo Deportivo
columnist Xavier Bosch said: 'I understand that he wanted to send a
positive message to supporters but when you want to go into the transfer
market, saying public you have the money to sign Coutinho or anyone...
Liverpool must be rubbing their hands together.'
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