Lionel Messi To Become PSG's Highest-Paid Player After Tax, French Club's Wage Bill Is Just Insane

Lionel Messi will climb ahead of soon-to-be Paris Saint-Germain teammates Neymar and Kylian Mbappe as the French club's highest-paid player, according to reports.

The six-time Ballon d'Or winner is set to fly out to Paris on Tuesday to complete his medical ahead of his sensational free transfer to PSG.

Messi, who has been a free agent since July, was prepared to take a hefty 50 per cent pay cut in a bid to sign a new deal with Barcelona.

The Barcelona legend earned in excess of £425m on his old contract with the La Liga club, which expired on 30th June.

Messi made his emotional farewell at a press conference on Sunday after Barcelona were unable to push through a new deal due to La Liga's financial rules.

The 34-year-old Argentine superstar received a formal contract offer from PSG and the official unveiling is expected to be held on Wednesday.

PA

Read More:

• The eye-watering breakdown of Lionel Messi's PSG contract

Messi's deal with PSG will keep him at the Parc des Princes until 2023 (with an option to extend until 2024) and he will earn a salary of around €35m (£29.6m).

The former Barcelona captain's €35m salary (after tax) would place him at the top of PSG's highest earners.

Neymar, who signed a new PSG deal in May, would become the second highest-paid player with his €35m salary.

The 29-year-old Brazilian winger left Barcelona in 2017 and completed a world-record £200m move to PSG.

Neymar was previously linked with a return to the Camp Nou, but the Brazil international's long-term PSG deal will keep him in the French capital until 2025.

PA

Joining Messi and Neymar in the top three best-paid stars at PSG is Mbappe, who earns a €24m salary with the Ligue 1 side.

Sergio Ramos and Gianluigi Donnarumma, who arrived on free transfers from Real Madrid and AC Milan respectively, are on €12m apiece at PSG.

Georginio Wijnaldum snubbed a move to Barcelona to complete a free transfer to PSG.

The 30-year-old ex-Liverpool midfielder earns €10m on his PSG contract, which puts him alongside Mauro Icardi in the highest-paid players at the Parisian-based club.

Topics: Paris Saint-Germain, Football, Ligue 1, PSG, Lionel Messi, France

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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