Money

PARIS — Lionel Messi dashed any thoughts of him taking it easy in his later years as he set his sights on leading new club Paris St Germain to their first ever Champions League title at his presentation in France on Wednesday.

The Argentine forward, 34, had agreed to stay at former club Barcelona after his deal expired at the end of June, only for the Spanish club to admit they could no longer afford him last week.

He signed a two year deal with an option for a third with the Parisians on Tuesday.

While Lionel Messi's departure marks the end of an era for Barcelona, there is plenty more to be resolved at the Nou Camp before the season gets under way:

MONEY ISSUES

Barcelona has a gross debt of over one billion euros ($1.17 billion) and years of profligate spending meant they flew too close to the sun once too often.

Even without the Argentine, their salary mass accounts for 95 percent of all income — in football, it is considered viable and healthy to have your wages to income at a maximum ratio of 70 percent.

BARCELONA/PARIS - Barcelona fans gathered outside Lionel Messi's house on Monday and spoke of their sadness at the club's greatest player leaving after 21 years, while Paris Saint-Germain fans eagerly awaited his arrival in the French capital.

One Barça member filed complaints with a French court and with the European Commission to try to block any move by PSG to sign Messi, according to documents seen by Reuters on Monday.

Last week I was happily reporting to you that Lionel Messi had touched down back in Barcelona to put pen to paper on a new five-year contract at the Camp Nou. It was so widely accepted that nobody batted an eye at the six-time Ballon d’Or winner’s strange status as a free agent following the expiration of his previous deal at the stroke of midnight on July 1.

The long-awaited announcement is imminent: Jack Grealish will complete a transfer to Manchester City. Grealish’s reported $140 million price tag makes him one of the most expensive English players ever. 

The biggest deal in English football is effectively done. Jack Grealish is on his way to Manchester, ahead of a medical tomorrow morning. Everything else is completed, he will now become the first £100m English player.

Speculation and excitement grow surrounding Champions League victors Chelsea in the quest to sign a new star striker. Even though the club spent around a whopping $150 million last year to bring in forwards Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, they are still shopping for a special striker before the 2021/22 season. While Havertz was battling Covid issues and Werner couldn’t win over the fans last season, the Blues will look to add a lethal striker to the club. 

Barcelona, Real Madrid and Juventus released a joint statement welcoming a Madrid court's decision on Friday asking European soccer governing body UEFA to revoke action against them for planning the creation of the breakaway Super League.

Athletic apparel company Title Nine gifted the USWNTPA $1 million on Wednesday — the largest sum the players association has ever received — saying it’s to help solve the pay gap between the men’s and women’s national soccer teams. It’s an awesome gesture similar to when LUNA Bar made a large donation in 2019. What does it really mean for how much the USWNT is paid for the Olympics? Let’s dig in.