The €500m PSG transfer that beats Lionel Messi's contract at PSG

Lionel Messi completed one of the deals of the century when he moved from FC Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain during the summer transfer window. The 6-time Ballon d'Or winner ended a 21-year relationship with the Spanish side to link up with Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain. Messi left Barcelona after the club could not afford to sign him back to his €1m-a-week former contract, even after he agreed to take a 50% pay cut.

On signing for Paris Saint-Germain, Lionel Messi was offered about €10m in signing-on fees due to his status as a free agent and then he was offered a 2-year deal worth about €35m a year with the option of a third year. Though, the structure of his salary would see him earn an increase to €40m if he stays for the second year and then €45m if he activates the 3rd year of his contract. This means that in total the Messi deal would cost PSG approximately €130m over the next 3 years. In context, the deal is not the most expensive that PSG has done, despite Messi's status as arguably the best player of all time. 

Most Expensive PSG Transfers of All-time

The honour of the most expensive PSG transfer of all time, indeed of the whole world, goes to Neymar. The Parisians paid his release clause of €222m in the summer of 2017 to bring the Brazilian to Paris. This fee alone is more than PSG will spend on the Messi deal. Then, the French club is rumoured to have been paying Neymar an average of €35m a year since he joined. In transfer fees and wages alone, PSG has spent at least €362m on the Neymar deal. Controversies arising from his transfer from Barcelona suggests that there might have been some back deals involving the move, especially with his agents and former club, Santos. This is rumoured to have pushed the money spent on Neymar closer to €500m.

The second most expensive PSG transfer of all time still isn't Messi, but Kylian Mbappe. PSG agreed to an obligation to buy for €180m when they took Mbappe on loan in 2017. In 2018, the 22-year-old completed his permanent move to the Parc des Princes. With his salary weighing €25m a year, this means PSG have spent at least €280m on the transfer of Kylian Mbappe. This qualifies as the second most expensive transfer for PSG and the world.