The star XI Barcelona could have signed with the 555m euros of Messi's contract

To pay 555 million euros in salary for one player is an astonishing amount of money. However, when you want to keep arguably the best player of all time on your books, it's what you have to pay, and it's exactly what Barcelona have paid Lionel Messi.

Details have emerged over the contract that Messi signed with Barcelona in 2017, keeping him at the club until June 2021. The money involved has raised a lot of questions. Has Messi earned this money in recent years? Can you justify paying a player this much? What could Barcelona have done with this money?

We've taken a look at the team Barcelona could have built with just the money they've spent on Messi's salary alone.

Using the website Transfermarkt as a reference, this starting XI has been compiled of players who have been transferred between the 2017/18 season and the 2020/21 campaign. It has a value of 555m euros.

In goal is Ederson. In front of him is Joao Cancelo (40m), Leonardo Bonnuci (35m) and Achraf (40m).

The midfield is made up of Rodri (63m), Donny Van de Beek (39m), Bruno Fernandes (55m) and Kai Havertz (80m).

There's also a young, dangerous front three of Joao Felix (120m), Ferran Torres (23m) and Erling Haaland (20m).

This is the line-up that "got away" from Barcelona, one that costs exactly the 555 million euros that Messi earned while other clubs in Europe signed these players.