What Messi’s $834M buyout clause could buy
Don’t want to buy out the Argentine star? Then why not grab 5 million of his jerseys?
If a rival soccer team were to pay Lionel Messi’s US$834 million buyout clause, Barcelona could potentially buy nine of the 20 priciest teams in the world.
Or it would have enough to buy every player in Major League Soccer at the same time.
It could even pay for 5 million Barcelona jerseys.
The likelihood of anyone triggering the clause seems remote, especially considering that it wouldn’t guarantee that the goal-scoring great would go anyway. But after Paris Saint-Germain paid Barcelona a record $264 million for Neymar, the team is clearly trying to scare off any potential candidates.
Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu said the club decided to more than double Messi’s original clause of $358 million because of what happened with Neymar.
Buyout clauses are not used in every country, but they are often put into effect to help protect clubs and give players the right to leave for a fee if they are not satisfied or want better deals.
Here’s a look at how far $834 million go in the world of soccer:
TOP CLUBS
Nine of the world’s most valuable soccer teams are worth less than the new clause on Messi’s contract, according to Forbes.
In its most recent rankings, only 11 of the top 20 clubs are valued higher than $834 million. Among the teams with a lower value are Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund.
MANCHESTER UNITED’S REVENUES
The amount spent to trigger Messi’s buyout clause would be almost the equivalent of what Manchester United generates in revenues in a year.
The English club topped a recent ranking of soccer’s biggest moneymakers released by accountancy firm Deloitte. It generated $920 million for the 2015-16 season.
ALL MLS PLAYERS
The players in the 22 teams in Major League Soccer have a market value of $485 million, according to specialized German site Transfermarkt.com, which analyzes transfers worldwide.
FIVE MLS EXPANSION TEAMS
The current expansion fee being charged by MLS is $150 million, meaning that owners could start five expansion teams with the money they spend to acquire Messi.
BARCELONA’S SQUAD
All other players in Barcelona’s squad this season have a combined market value of $698 million, according to Transfermarkt.
Teams hypothetically could forget about Messi and just try to sign the rest of Barcelona’s players for significantly less than they would have to spend on the Argentine.
HALF OF SPAIN’S PLAYERS
The market value for players in half of the Spanish league’s teams is worth $741 million, Transfermarkt said, and that includes those in some traditional clubs such as Real Betis and Deportivo La Coruna. Messi’s clause is 17 times bigger than the current market value for the entire squad of southern Madrid club Getafe.
STADIUMS
Instead of signing Messi, teams could build state-of-the-art venues such as Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in London, which cost nearly $715 million and is one of the most expensive stadiums owned by a club in Europe.
Barcelona rival Real Madrid is expected to spend $476 million to add a retractable roof and renovate its Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
SPONSORSHIP DEALS
Barcelona could afford to forfeit its current jersey sponsorship deal for more than 12 years.
The club is receiving about $65 million a year from Japanese company Rakuten in an agreement valid until 2021. Manchester United is getting about $71 million a year for its record jersey sponsorship deal with Chevrolet.
JUST THE SHIRT
The $834 million would be just enough for 5 million Barcelona jerseys at a cost of $167 each.
The official replica costs $101, which would allow for a total of more than 8.2 million jerseys.