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According to a recent study, Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is worth a staggering €400million (£331m); which amounts to about 3 times more than what rival Cristiano Ronaldo is worth(€150-160m or £124-130m).
The study, which was commissioned by three of Europe’s leading clubs also suggests that Messi is 5 times more marketable than Ronaldo. The study revealed that Messi’s worth far exceeds his buy-out clause of €250m (£200m) and reportedly one of the teams, rumoured to be Qatari backed Paris Saint Germain are willing to match the price.
Professor Gerardo Molina, who wrote the report, said: ‘There is a club that is practically sponsored by a government [reported to be PSG] that would be prepared to pay €400 m for Leo Messi.
‘There are three European clubs that asked us to come up with this study in order to find out how much Messi was worth. We cannot say who the clubs are. The clubs wanted to analyse the viability of a possible transfer for Messi.
Molina added: ‘Messi is five times more marketable than Cristiano Ronaldo. According to studies, Ronaldo is worth between €150 and 160m. Messi’s buy-out clause is €250m, we believe that figure is obsolete and devalued.
‘Right now there is no player in the world of sport that has a greater value than Leo Messi. According to market research in the last five years, Messi is worth €400m.’
Messi who has been injured for about 2 months is back in training, but was not be risked when Barcelona faced Elche.
Manager Gerardo Martino said: ‘He has arrived back in good shape; he has had three good training sessions. ‘What he is missing now is match sharpness but the truth is he is in good shape. The speed of his return will depend on how he feels. But I see he has got the old assassin’s look in his eyes, the desire is certainly there.’
Messi is set to battle it out with Cristiano Ronaldo and Bayern Munich’s Frank Ribery for the Ballon d’Or.
