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HIGHEST-PAID FOOTBALLER IN THE MAKING: MESSI TO EARN £14,200 AN HOUR AT MANCHESTER CITY

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Even as Jorge Messi, the father and agent of legendary Lionel Messi lands in Barcelona this morning for a crunch talk with Josep Maria Bartomeu, the president of Barcelona over the footballer’s future, it is gathered that Messi has already reached an agreement with Manchester City.

The making of the highest-paid individual in the history of football

 
 
 

He has reportedly agreed a record £623million deal to join the English Premiership top flight club.

According to Record Sport, Messi has agreed financial terms on a five-year contract worth a total of €700m (£623m).

The incredible deal would make the Argentine the highest-paid individual in the history of the sport.

It equates to £14,200 an hour, £341,000 per day, £2.4m every week and a whopping £10.4m per month.

Messi is set to spend three seasons at the Etihad before joining City Football Group’s Major League Soccer side New York City FC for two years.

It is also reported that Messi could be offered an equity stake in CFG as part of his package.

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The six-time Ballon d’Or winner has been at loggerheads with Barcelona since he handed in his transfer request to leave on a free.

New Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has decided that if Messi does not want to stay at the Spanish giants it would be better to get him out as soon as possible.

And Barca presidential hopeful Victor Font insists current president Josep Maria  Bartomeu must honour his pledge to allow the Argentine superstar “to leave whenever he wants.”

Messi’s father and representative, Jorge Messi, yesterday flew by private jet from his home in Argentina city Rosario to Spain for showdown talks with Barcelona chiefs today.

And Font declared: “A couple of months ago the president said players have earned the right to leave and retire whenever they want.

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“Now, because of these very exceptional circumstances, he has to honour that commitment.”

When asked whether Messi had been betrayed by the club, Font added: “There is an inconsistency, probably due to mismanagement by the current  board, trying to hide behind these wrongdoings.

season

“That’s why it’s extremely important for the history of the club that we do what it takes.”

Barcelona claim Messi, 33, is on STRIKE after failing to report for a Covid test and pre-season training.

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But the superstar no longer considers himself a part of  Koeman’s squad following a bitter row over his contract.

His legal team claim he is now a free agent after faxing his transfer request and can leave without his huge 700m euros buy-out clause being paid, while Barca and LaLiga insist the contract terms are still in force.

In a Sky Sports interview Font added: “I’m sure what Messi has decided has not been a last-minute decision, it’ll be something well thought out.

“I really hope the decision can be changed, but it doesn’t seem likely and if that’s the case the focus should be on  getting the transition that Messi deserves.

“We  need to ensure  the  legal battle between the club and  Messi stops. We sit down, we talk. Let’s make sure we don’t get into an even worse situation.”

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It equates to £14,200 an hour, £341,000 per day, £2.4m every week and a whopping £10.4m per month.

Messi is set to spend three seasons at the Etihad before joining City Football Group’s Major League Soccer side New York City FC for two years.

It is also reported that Messi could be offered an equity stake in CFG as part of his package.

The six-time Ballon d’Or winner has been at loggerheads with Barcelona since he handed in his transfer request to leave on a free.

New Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has decided that if Messi does not want to stay at the Spanish giants it would be better to get him out as soon as possible.

Advertisement

And Barca presidential hopeful Victor Font insists current president Josep Maria  Bartomeu must honour his pledge to allow the Argentine superstar “to leave whenever he wants.”

Messi’s father and representative, Jorge Messi, yesterday flew by private jet from his home in Argentina city Rosario to Spain for showdown talks with Barcelona chiefs today.

And Font declared: “A couple of months ago the president said players have earned the right to leave and retire whenever they want.

“Now, because of these very exceptional circumstances, he has to honour that commitment.”

When asked whether Messi had been betrayed by the club, Font added: “There is an inconsistency, probably due to mismanagement by the current  board, trying to hide behind these wrongdoings.

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season

“That’s why it’s extremely important for the history of the club that we do what it takes.”

Barcelona claim Messi, 33, is on STRIKE after failing to report for a Covid test and pre-season training.

But the superstar no longer considers himself a part of  Koeman’s squad following a bitter row over his contract.

His legal team claim he is now a free agent after faxing his transfer request and can leave without his huge 700m euros buy-out clause being paid, while Barca and LaLiga insist the contract terms are still in force.

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In a Sky Sports interview Font added: “I’m sure what Messi has decided has not been a last-minute decision, it’ll be something well thought out.

“I really hope the decision can be changed, but it doesn’t seem likely and if that’s the case the focus should be on  getting the transition that Messi deserves.

“We  need to ensure  the  legal battle between the club and  Messi stops. We sit down, we talk. Let’s make sure we don’t get into an even worse situation.”

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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La Liga

Vinicius treble as Real Madrid return to winning ways

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Madrid's Vinicius Junior celebrates scoring their fourth goal and completes his hat-trick REUTERS/Susana Vera

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr scored a hat-trick to help the LaLiga champions snap a two-game winless run in all competitions with a commanding 4-0 victory over Osasuna on Saturday.

The Brazilian forward opened the scoring in the 34th minute after taking a Jude Bellingham pass in his stride to beat the offside trap and firing an unstoppable strike past goalkeeper Sergio Herrera.

Bellingham recovered his scoring instinct by netting his first goal of the season with a brilliant finish eight minutes later, lobbing the ball over the goalkeeper to extend Real’s lead.

Vinicius wrapped up the home side’s win with strikes in the 61st and 69th minutes, helping second-placed Real climb to 27 points, six behind leaders Barcelona. Osasuna are fifth on 21 points.

-Reuters

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Iheanacho Glad to Open Goal Account at Sevilla 

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Super Eagles striker Kelechi Iheanacho has expressed delight after opening his goal-scoring account for Sevilla.

The Nigerian striker, Iheanacho, bagged a brace for the club in a dominant second-half display as Sevilla cruised to a 3-0 victory over Las Rozas in their Copa del Rey opener at Dehesa de Navalcarbón on Wednesday night.

Reflecting on his performance, Iheanacho expressed satisfaction with breaking his goal drought for Sevilla.

“I’m very happy to have scored my first goal for this club,” Iheanacho said via El Sevillista.

“It’s great for my confidence and that of the team, which hopefully will finish in the top six.”

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Speaking ahead of their La Liga clash against Real Sociedad, Iheanacho said: “I hope we win. We want to win at the Sanchez-Pizjuan, and the support of the fans will be important.”

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La Liga

Fraudster dupes Barcelona of €1million!

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A conman, who pretended to be a lawyer working with Robert Lewandowski's agent, managed to convince Barcelona to transfer €1million into a Cypriot bank account Photo: Bagu Blanco. Source: UGC

Barcelona fell victim to a €1 million scam after being deceived by a fraudster posing as a representative of Robert Lewandowski’s agent.

Lewandowski, who joined the Catalan giants from Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022 for an initial fee of €45 million), has proven his value on the pitch, netting 71 goals in 106 appearances.

However, behind the scenes, the club faced a significant issue, as the fraudster exploited the high-profile transfer to swindle the Catalan giants.

Following the transfer deal, Barcelona were contacted by someone claiming to be working with Robert Lewandowski’s agent, Pini Zahavi, who demanded €1 million be sent to a Cypriot bank account.

The fraudster, using the false identity of “Michael Hermanus Gerardus Demon,” pretended to be Lewandowski’s lawyer and persistently pressured the club until they agreed to the payment.

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Barcelona wired the funds to an account at Banc de Xipre, but the bank’s compliance department flagged the transaction as suspicious.

According to an investigation by Cadena SER, the fraudster had no prior banking history with the institution and was asked to verify their identity.

When Barcelona reached out to Zahavi, Lewandowski’s agent he denied any knowledge of the fraudulent individual, leading the bank to freeze the funds.

The fraudster, ‘Mr. Demon’ later escalated the pressure on Barcelona, threatening to report them to UEFA if they didn’t pay and demanding an additional €250,000 for silence.

Fortunately, Barcelona managed to recover part of the money from the Cypriot bank, though no criminal investigation has been launched as the club has not filed a formal complaint.

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Barcelona confirmed to Cadena SER that they were the target of an attempted fraud, which has led them to strengthen their anti-fraud protocols.

-MSN

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