Barcelona is calculating how to renew Messi's contract.
Neymar and Suárez renewed their contracts with the Catalan club and now earn around 25 million euros each per season; Messi earns around 22 million per year, and a renewal would put the club in a complicated situation because the Spanish League prohibits clubs from spending more than 70% of their budget on salaries; "Barcelona needs to analyze this situation with a cool head and common sense. Barcelona cannot exceed 70 percent of its spending on salaries, and therefore we need to make the numbers work," said Barcelona's director, Oscar Grau.
Reuters - Barcelona's desire to offer striker Lionel Messi a better contract is facing a roadblock due to the spending cap imposed by La Liga, Barça CEO Oscar Grau said on Wednesday.
While Messi's attacking partners, Luis Suárez and Neymar, have already signed new contracts until 2021, the Argentine's agreement runs until June 30, 2018, leaving Barcelona with an 18-month window to prevent Messi from leaving the club for free.
Messi reportedly earns €22 million a year at Barcelona, while Neymar and Suárez's salaries are said to be around €25 million after their new contract renewals. Gray stated that any new contract for the Argentine will put considerable pressure on the club's finances.
"Barcelona needs to analyze this situation with a cool head and common sense. Barcelona cannot exceed 70 percent of its spending on salaries, and therefore we need to make the numbers work," Grau said at an event on Wednesday.
The Spanish League imposes budget limits on each club at the start of each season, and its rules, known as economic controls, prevent clubs from spending more than 70 percent of their budgets on salaries.
Barcelona's budget for this season is a record 695 million euros. The Catalan club pays the highest salaries in Spain and, in world football, is second only to Manchester United, according to a publication by the Global Sports Salary Survey (GSSS).