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Lionel Messi would become the highest-paid athlete in history if he accepts a whopping £194million-a-YEAR salary to play in Saudi Arabia.
It has been claimed that the Paris Saint-Germain forward could follow rival Cristiano Ronaldo to the Middle East, and would pocket more money than his Ballon d’Or rival.
Getty
AFP
Ronaldo penned a record-breaking £177m-per-year deal when he joined Al Nassr after having his contract ripped up by Manchester United.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner pockets a staggering £485k-per-day in the Gulf nation, which equates to £14.75m every month, £3.4m-a-week, £20k-per-hour and £337 every minute.
But that would be dwarfed by what Messi could be earning, with reports stating he will be offered £194m-a-year to play in the Saudi Pro League.
According to Spanish news outlet Marca, Al Nassr’s Riyadh rivals Al Hilal would be the 35-year-old’s most likely destination.
Messi’s father Jorge was recently in Saudi Arabia to spark speculation the Argentine World Cup winner could make the move when his deal at Parc des Princes expires at the end of the season.
Should Messi sign on the dotted line and accept the potential contract offer, he would take home £16.17m-a-month.
Rex
That would work out to £3.73m-per-month and an incredible £532K-a-day.
To break that down even further, Messi would earn £2K-per-hour, £369 every hour and £6.15-per-second.
Prior to Ronaldo’s deal, Forbes ranked Messi as the highest-paid sportsperson in 2022.
They stated that Messi had earned £107m from his base football salary and commercial bonuses – £70m less than Ronaldo’s contract.
AFP
His Les Parisiens teammate Neymar took home £78.5m, with Mohamed Salah the next best-paid footballer with £37m.
PSG forward Kylian Mbappe follows the Liverpool maestro where he earned £35.5m in 2022.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Messi, with MLS outfit Inter Miami also claimed to be interested in securing his services.
But PSG sporting director Luis Campos revealed last month how he hopes Messi continues his spell in France beyond the summer.
He told Telefoot: “At the moment, we are in discussions with Messi for his extension.
“I would like to keep him in this project, I can’t hide it. We are talking at the moment to achieve this goal, and continue to have him with us.”
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