REVEALED: Barcelona pay a LIFETIME salary to every one of their European champions due to a promise made by former president Joan Laporta that was inspired by Lionel Messi
- Barcelona reward former players who won a European trophy a lifetime salary
- The promise was made by former president Joan Laporta and was stuck to
- Laporta was inspired by Lionel Messi’s goal in the 2009 Champions League final
- The recipients of the reward could total close to 300 players from 12 squads
Barcelona players past, present and future have another reason to thank Lionel Messi – as it has been revealed that he inspired former club president Joan Laporta to award every winner of a European title at the Catalan club a lifetime salary.
More than 290 players could be benefiting – with the Nou Camp side having won five Champions League tiles, four Cup Winners’ Cups and three Fairs Cups.
Juan Carlos Heredia – who was victorious in the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1979 alongside Johan Cruyff – is one of the recipients, and explained how the reward was inspired.
Former Barcelona president Joan Laporta promised lifetime salaries to European title winners
Barcelona could be paying 300 players, including their 1992 Champions League winning side
Lionel Messi’s goal in the 2009 Champions League final over Man United inspired the reward
‘When Barcelona won the Champions League final in Rome against Manchester United with a goal from Messi, the club president [Joan Laporta] declared that all those who were European champions with Barcelona were going to receive a salary for life. And he fulfilled it,’ Heredia explained to The Tactical Room.
Messi’s goal came in the 70th minute of the 2009 final, sealing the win over Sir Alex Ferguson’s side after an early Sameul Eto’o strike.
Since then, the Catalans have won two more European titles in 2011 and 2015, with players ranging from Neymar to Marc Bartra added to the list of Barcelona’s European champions.
Laporta’s presidential reign included the 2009 season where Barcelona won six trophies
Former Spanish politician Laporta was Barcelona president from 2003 to 2010, and oversaw the club as they won six trophies in one season under Pep Guardiola in 2009.
