Lionel Messi offer from Saudi Arabia has been upped to €500m – La Liga TV Chief

Barcelona are looking to bring Lionel Messi back this summer, but they will not be able to be rely on money to persuade him. Competing for his signature is the largest offer made to any footballer ever, according to Jaume Roures.

Roures, who is head of Mediapro and holds the broadcasting rights for La Liga, told Cadena SER (via MD) that Messi’s offer had risen. Previously reports had put the figure at around €400m for a two-year contract, but Roures stated that they had increased their offer by an extra €100m, and would be willing to pay that much for just a single year of Messi. Al Hilal have been spoken about as a candidate for Messi, but there are various clubs that could pitch for him.

These mind-boggling figures are hard to get your head around. For context, Barcelona are thought to be offering somewhere around €14m per year for Messi, over 35 times less than what Roures claims Messi would earn in the Middle East.

The Blaugrana were never likely to rely on money to persuade Messi back to the place that he called home for two decades, but equally it is quite an astounding difference. Asked about the matter earlier in the week Barcelona President Joan Laporta dismissed the idea that Messi might want to play in Saudi Arabia instead of Barcelona.

Ultimately, it is a futile debate until Barcelona get the go ahead from La Liga for their viability plan and are able to make signings once again.