Cash-strapped Barcelona still owe Lionel Messi MILLIONS with Spanish giants due to pay up on deferred salaries from the whole squad, despite their greatest-ever player making shock move to PSG
- Barcelona owe Lionel Messi millions in deferred salary payments from last year
- The Argentine superstar, 34, joined Paris Saint-Germain for free this week
- Messi left Barcelona with the club financially unable to re-sign their superstar
- And matters have been made worse due to payments still owed to Messi
Lionel Messi is still owed millions in wages by Barcelona after he left the cash-strapped club to complete a blockbuster move to Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi deferred part of his salary, along with the rest of the Barcelona squad, last season and the players are owed a combined £104million.
Messi trained with PSG for the first time on Thursday and could even be included in the squad for Saturday’s visit of Strasbourg.
Barcelona must pay Lionel Messi millions from his deferred salary last season, it has emerged
The 34-year-old bid an emotional farewell to the club who are financially unable to sign him
The 34-year-old is said to have asked to be involved this weekend, despite admitting it would take several weeks to regain full fitness.
Messi is staying with his family in a hotel just off the Champs-Elysees after arriving on a free transfer this week. However, the Argentine has received an unexpected offer from his old La Liga foe Sergio Ramos, who joined PSG from Real Madrid this summer. Ramos has said Messi, his wife and three children can move into his new home in the short term if they would prefer — which would be as big a shock as Messi leaving Barcelona in the first place.
Meanwhile, Barcelona last night rejected a possible £238m windfall from La Liga because they do not like the conditions of the deal.
However, Barca still owe their squad millions after they accepted deferred salaries last year
Messi this week completed a switch to French giants Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer
La Liga’s deal with the US investment fund CVC was worth £2.3billion with the money distributed between the clubs in Spain’s top two divisions.
Barcelona were due £238m — £36m of which they would have to spend on debt restructuring, £166m on the redevelopment of the Nou Camp and £36m on players.
But the deal means CVC are entitled to 10 per cent of TV money from Spanish football for the next 50 years and in a La Liga assembly yesterday Barcelona rejected the deal along with Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao.
La Liga say the deal will still go ahead with the sum cut to £1.8bn and now shared between all teams bar those who have rejected it.
Real Madrid have vowed to fight the agreement with CVC in the courts.
