Lionel Messi stunned football fans with a shock move to MLS side Inter Miami during the ongoing summer transfer window. The 2022 FIFA World Cup winner left PSG as a free agent, but was expected to remain in Europe with FC Barcelona his favoured destination.
But the move fell through due to Financial Fair Play. Messi was also linked to Al Hilal and the Saudi Pro League club reportedly offered him a massive 344 million pounds deal, but he rejected them for a 43 million pounds salary at Inter Miami.
Adidas, Apple and MLS were all also hoping to entice the Argentine to lucrative commercial proposals.
Adidas – one of the league’s largest corporate sponsors – have reportedly proposed a profit-sharing agreement, meaning the forward will receive a cut of any increase in profits resulting from his MLS involvement.
MLS and Apple have also considered offering Messi a share of the revenue generated by new subscribers to the MLS Season Pass, the league’s streaming package on Apple TV+.
In addition to these commercial proposals, MLS chiefs are understood to be willing to offer Messi the option to purchase a percentage of any team in the league upon his retirement.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Al Nassr after the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the winter transfer window, is currently being paid 173 million pounds per season. Out of his total salary, 62 million pounds is for playing football and the remaining 111 million pounds is for commercial deals and image rights.
The non-football fee will also see the Portuguese superstar serve as ambassador for Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2030 World Cup. That means Ronaldo could pocket as much as £1.2BILLION over the course of the contract and that means he earns £5.50 per SECOND.
Picture via The Sun
