Barcelona ‘will have to pay Lionel Messi’s £30m loyalty bonus next summer’ even

Barcelona will have to pay Lionel Messi‘s loyalty bonus of £30million (€33million) next summer even if he leaves the club.

Messi’s future at Barcelona remains uncertain, with his current contract set to expire at the end of June next year. 

As reported by ESPN, when Messi signed a four-year deal in 2017 the contract included a £60million (€66million) loyalty bonus.

Barcelona will have to pay Lionel Messi’s loyalty bonus of £30m next year even if he leaves

Messi received half of that bonus in February and he is set to receive the second half when his contract expires, irrespective of whether he remains at Barcelona.

If Messi had left Barcelona earlier this year then he would have given up the second half of the bonus.  

The 33-year-old submitted a transfer request and was heavily linked with a reunion with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, but ended up staying at the LaLiga club.

Messi received half of the bonus in February and is set to receive the other half next year

Barcelona need to knock £170m off their wage bill to deal with the financial impact of Covid-19

Barcelona are struggling financially due to the coronavirus pandemic and need to knock £170million (€190million) off their wage bill.

The club are in discussions over wage deferrals with a number of employees, including the first-team squad. 

So far this season Messi has scored six goals and provided four assists across ten appearances.