Pay day for Lionel Messi! Barcelona settle €48m debt with Inter Miami star as La Liga giants make final deferred wage payments to former players and coaches

It has been four years since Messi departed his beloved Barcelona, but his former club will this this month pay off the last of their debts to their greatest ever player, according to Sportin Spain. A final €5.96 million instalment of his contract will been paid, after almost €48m (£41m/$56m) of the Argentine's final deal with the Blaugrana was deferred back in 2020.

Messi was not the only player to be impacted by this deferral, which hit most of the squad and some other members of staff amidst Barca's deteriorating financial situation during the Covid-19 pandemic. The financial effects of this have been felt by the club for the years which have followed, but the chapter has come to a close with these final payments. Other whose contracts were deferred included Samuel Umtiti, Sergio Busquets, Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele and former manager Ronald Koeman.

Financial crisis hit one of the world's greatest clubs in 2020 under ex-president Josep Maria Bartomeu, with the Covid-19 pandemic uncovering and intensifying significantly a crisis which had been building after years of financial mismanagement. The problems have continued to hit the headlines in recent times, as Barca needed to battle the courts earlier this season in order to register new signings Dani Olmo and Pau Victor.

Messi will face his other former club Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup round of 16 on Sunday, after the Argentine hero inspired current club Inter Miami to five points and qualification from the group stage.

Barca are not taking part in the competition, so preparations will be well underway for the 2025-26 season. The Spanish champions will feel that a weight has been lifted off their shoulders with financial debts finally paid to their former employees.