As he bid farewell to Barcelona, footballer Lionel Messi became emotional. He declared to the world on August 8 that he will be leaving FC Barcelona, the only club he ever played for. He has been with Barca since the age of 13. Messi's contract with the club expired earlier but he was set to sign a new contract with them on August 5. But sadly, the deal didn’t happen.

Messi wished to come back but both parties couldn’t reach an agreement. Due to the Covid19 lockdown, the club had faced huge losses. Over the years, Barcelona spent too much money and signed up mediocre players at high rate contracts. In 2020 alone their wage bill was €443 million which is 42 million more than Manchester City.

Nothing worked in Barcelona’s favour as there was no audience in the stadiums for matches. No money could be collected for the gate receipts. This is one of the important means of remuneration but since there was no audience means no gate receipt money. Also, the changes in the La Liga rules made it difficult for them to sign a contract.

Also Read: Why FC Barcelona Broke Ties With Lionel Messi

As soon as Messi announced that he is leaving Barcelona, there were speculations of him joining another club. Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) announced on Tuesday that the Argentina striker will be joining them and has signed a two-year contract.

In his new journey with the PSG team, Messi is the highest player. Based on the tweet posted by Football For All, Messi Will paid a salary of around Rs 305 crores (after taxes), the former Barcelona captain would be among PSG's best earners. With Rs 300 crores salary, Neymar, who signed a new PSG contract in May, become the club's second-highest-paid player. With Rs 240 Crores Mbappe become the club's third-highest player.

Due to Covid19, the accounts for the year 2020 would be rolled into 2021. It was a good thing for PSG. The clubs tried to do away with losses and follow the Financial Fair Play rules. Owing to the pandemic, many strict rules were changed. The 70 percent rule was shifted to the 2023-24 season. These factors helped PSG in signing Messi.