MADRID (AP) If a rival soccer team were to pay
Lionel Messi’s 700 million euro ($834 million) buyout clause, Barcelona could
potentially buy nine of the 20 most expensive teams in the world.
Or it would have enough to buy every player in Major
League Soccer at the same time.
It could even pay for 5 million Barcelona jerseys.
The likelihood of anyone triggering the clause seems
remote, especially considering that it wouldn’t guarantee that the goal-scoring
great would go anyway. But after Paris Saint-Germain paid Barcelona a record
222 million euros ($264 million) for Neymar, the team is clearly trying to
scare off any potential candidates.
Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu said the club
decided to more than double Messi’s original clause of 300 million euros ($358
million) because of what happened with Neymar.
Buyout clauses are not used in every country, but
they are often put into effect to help protect clubs and give players the right
to leave for a fee if they are not satisfied or want better deals.
Here’s a look at some of the things 700 million
euros can buy in the world of soccer:
—
TOP CLUBS
Nine of the world’s most valuable soccer teams are
worth less than the new clause on Messi’s contract, according to Forbes.
In its most recent rankings, only 11 of the top 20
clubs are valued higher than 700 million euros. Among the teams with a lower
value are Atletico Madrid, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund.
—
MANCHESTER UNITED’S REVENUES
The amount spent to trigger Messi’s buyout clause
would be almost the equivalent of what Manchester United generates in revenues
in a year.
The English club topped a recent ranking of soccer’s
biggest moneymakers released by accountancy firm Deloitte. It generated 515.3
million pounds (689 million euros) for the 2015-16 season.
—
ALL MLS PLAYERS
The players in the 22 teams in Major League Soccer
have a market value of 407 million euros ($485 million), according to
specialized German site Transfermarkt.com, which analyzes transfers worldwide.
—
FIVE MLS EXPANSION TEAMS
The current expansion fee being charged by MLS is
$150 million (125 million euros), meaning that owners could start five
expansion teams with the money they spend to acquire Messi.
—
BARCELONA’S SQUAD
All other players in Barcelona’s squad this season
have a combined market value of 586 million euros ($698 million), according to
Transfermarkt.
Teams hypothetically could forget about Messi and
just try to sign the rest of Barcelona’s players for significantly less than
they would have to spend on the Argentina forward.
—
HALF OF SPAIN’S PLAYERS
The market value for players in half of the Spanish
league’s teams is worth 622 million euros ($741 million), Transfermarkt said,
and that includes those in some traditional clubs such as Real Betis and
Deportivo La Coruna.
Messi’s clause is 17 times bigger than the current
market value for the entire squad of southern Madrid club Getafe.
—
STADIUMS
Instead of signing Messi, teams could build
state-of-the-art venues such as Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in London, which
cost nearly 600 million euros ($715 million) and is one of the most expensive
stadiums owned by a club in Europe.
Barcelona rival Real Madrid is expected to spend 400
million euros ($476 million) to add a retractable roof and renovate its
Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
—
SPONSORSHIP DEALS
With the 700 million euros, Barcelona could afford
to forfeit its current jersey sponsorship deal for more than 12 years.
The club is receiving about 55 million euros ($65
million) a year from Japanese company Rakuten in an agreement valid until 2021.
Manchester United is getting about 60 million euros
($71 million) a year for its record jersey sponsorship deal with Chevrolet.
—
JUST THE SHIRT
The 700 million euros would be just enough for 5
million Barcelona jerseys at a cost of 140 euros ($167) each.
The official replica costs 85 euros ($101), which
would allow for a total of more than 8.2 million jerseys.
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