Ridiculous Signing On Bonus On The Table For Messi To Sign A New Barcelona Deal

Lionel Messi looks set to pocket a massive signing on bonus if he decides to sign a new deal at Barcelona.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner's existing deal expires in the summer and contract negotiations have been dragging on for a while now.

Despite Messi being content at Barcelona, and popular opinion being that he will remain there for the rest of his career, there has been genuine concern that he could leave on a free, with reports suggesting that Manchester City would be waiting in the wings.

Image: PA

However, the latest is that Barca's greatest ever player is close to signing a new and improved deal with the club until 2021, with his wages rising to a whopping £500,000-a-week. It's said that Messi's representatives, brother Rodrigo and father Jorge, have given their seal of approval, but the main man is yet to sign on the dotted line.

And that's not all, as Catalan paper L'Ara, via the Daily Mail, say that if the 30-year old does put pen to paper as expected, he is set to receive an utterly insane signing on bonus somewhere between £79 million and £85 million - which would be the highest ever bonus a player will have ever received, and proves the monumental value Messi has to the Blaugrana.

Image: PA

But in order to finance such an extortionate deal, Barca will need extra income to come in the club and that could be aided by potentially selling the name rights to the Nou Camp.

According to Spanish newspaper Sport, the Catalan side are looking to sell naming rights before work starts on the stadium in the summer of 2019, with the deal set to be confirmed at the beginning of next year.

_{How the Camp Nou will look after the work is complete. Images: FC Barcelona}

The paper reckons that the deal would be for roughly €200 million, or just short of one Neymar, and could overtake New York Jets and Giants MetLife Stadium as the most lucrative stadium sponsorship in the world.

The Camp Nou will be getting a new 'surname' according to the report suggesting that it will keep the Camp Nou part of its name, so the McDonald's Camp Nou could well be the future.

Barcelona are developing the stadium to have a new capacity of over 100,000 and the roof on the stadium is set to cover all of the stands once work is complete.

The work will not disrupt any Barca matches and is expected to be finished in time for the 2020/21 season.

Topics: Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Argentina, World Cup

Josh Lawless

Josh is a writer who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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