The true market price of Lionel Messi

In February, Lionel Messi extended his contract with Barcelona until June 2018. But with the arrival of Qatari and Russian tycoons in the world football, the global transfer market has been revolutionized. PSG, Monaco, Manchester City or Chelsea can now afford to buy the greatest players, who previously were seen as the luxury reserved for most exclusive clubs in the world.

With this revolution, even clubs as prestigious and powerful as Barcelona is now vulnerable of losing its best players, including the best in the world, Lionel Messi. Aware of the potential danger, the Catalan club have shielded the contract with the Argentine with a release clause of € 250 million.

“If a club like PSG, Manchester City or Chelsea Messi gets mad and in the next few years Messi expresses the desire to leave, it is not impossible, and with this clause 250 million, the club will sell him because they can afford a lot of other very talented players,” says Fernando Polo, a journalist in Barcelona Mundo Deportivo.