Can the beautiful game get uglier than this?

[sidders]

According to Record Sport, Messi has agreed financial terms on a five-year contract worth a total of €700m (£623m).

The incredible deal would make the Argentine the highest-paid individual in the history of the sport.

It equates to £14,200 an hour, £341,000 per day, £2.4m every week and a whopping £10.4m per month.

Messi is set to spend three seasons at the Etihad before joining City Football Group's (CFG) Major League Soccer side New York City FC for two years.

How obscene is this payout for a 33 year old footballer when across the same city an international player is fronting an initiative to ensure that youngsters have enough food on their plate?

[Old_pie]

According to Record Sport, Messi has agreed financial terms on a five-year contract worth a total of €700m (£623m).

The incredible deal would make the Argentine the highest-paid individual in the history of the sport.

It equates to £14,200 an hour, £341,000 per day, £2.4m every week and a whopping £10.4m per month.

Does it? Or should it be calculated over the rest of his life?

[queenslandpie]

Does it? Or should it be calculated over the rest of his life?

Are you suggesting that after the deals up he won't another penny?

[Elite_Pie]

To put the ugliness in some sort of context, the FA Cup has just started. The winners at the earliest stage will get £1,125, and the losers £375.
If the figures in the OP are correct, Messi would earn the winner's prize in less than 5 minutes, and the loser's in just over one and a half minutes. These clubs are the grass roots of the game, and I'm sure that is welcome money to them. I know those at the top deserve a bigger slice of the cake, but just like real life the difference between top and bottom is obscene.

[Old_pie]

Are you suggesting that after the deals up he won't another penny?

Who knows what will happen? But I'd expect he's not on a fixed football income for life with a final salary pension guaranteed either so if I were in his fortunate position I would be looking at it keeping me to the life I'm accustomed for the rest of my expected days and so I think it unfair to look at the figures purely over the contract period.

[queenslandpie]

Who knows what will happen? But I'd expect he's not on a fixed football income for life with a final salary pension guaranteed either so if I were in his fortunate position I would be looking at it keeping me to the life I'm accustomed for the rest of my expected days and so I think it unfair to look at the figures purely over the contract period.

Yes I understand that but I think he will be ok financially won't he! It's an ongoing merry go round of crazy stupidity whether it's Messi or someone else and it's entirely unnecessary. He has enough money to buy a small country already. Enough is enough don't you think. Personally I am someone who is happy with moderate wealth and a good life. There is no need to be throwing that sort of money around on his brand. In the mean time a few blades of grass are thrown to the national league clubs to help them pay the cleaning lady.

[Old_pie]

Yes I understand that but I think he will be ok financially won't he! It's an ongoing merry go round of crazy stupidity whether it's Messi or someone else and it's entirely unnecessary. He has enough money to buy a small country already. Enough is enough don't you think. Personally I am someone who is happy with moderate wealth and a good life. There is no need to be throwing that sort of money around on his brand. In the mean time a few blades of grass are thrown to the national league clubs to help them pay the cleaning lady.

Oh I'm sure that providing his financial advisors don't rip him off, or that he doesn't do a George "I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered." Best, that he (and his family) will be fine. Tell me how you impose a limit? Enterprises that spend more than they earn eventually go bust, it's sort of self-regulating. We used to pay football players £10/week max. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson reputedly earned £67m in the past 12 months just for acting a big hero - highest paid actor in the world. I mean I won't have earned 1/10th of that in my lifetime and my work was more meaningful.

Now Apple, who produce ridiculously overpriced computers are bigger than the total of all the FTSE 100 companies put together. That's phenomenally obscene and dangerous.

[sidders]

Yes I understand that but I think he will be ok financially won't he! It's an ongoing merry go round of crazy stupidity whether it's Messi or someone else and it's entirely unnecessary. He has enough money to buy a small country already. Enough is enough don't you think. Personally I am someone who is happy with moderate wealth and a good life. There is no need to be throwing that sort of money around on his brand. In the mean time a few blades of grass are thrown to the national league clubs to help them pay the cleaning lady.

The voice of sanity - on this occasion, anyway!

[Chicken Balti Pie]

So Man City are going to pay £1.4 billion on a single player who is 33 years old? Can't see that happening to be honest. Especially now anyone who signs him have the pay a £700million transfer fee

[Bushwacka]

Especially now anyone who signs him have the pay a £700million transfer fee

That won't happen. Will still be a daft fee involved probably, but nowhere near that. Barcelona will find a way of letting him go whilst still saving face.