Messi and the contract with Saudi Arabia: details of the deal and the scandal at PSG
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Among Messi’s many advertising contracts is an agreement with Saudi Arabia. It involves visiting the country as a tourist to increase the recognition of the state.
If earlier no one paid much attention to the deal, now it has played a cruel joke on the Argentinean. Messi has been suspended from matches for PSG and is now accused of fomenting a conflict of interest over the 2030 World Cup.
What’s happened
Paris Saint-Germain football club suspended Lionel Messi for two weeks and intends to cut the salary of the Argentine superstar. This was in response to the striker’s decision to fly to Saudi Arabia to participate in promotional activities.
This was regarded by the Parisians as too serious a step after the club was defeated by Lorient on April 30 (1:3). As a result, the lead over second-placed Marseille has narrowed. And there are a few more rounds to go.
Messi’s team may have to do without him in the decisive matches of the 2022/23 season. Nevertheless, analysts at the bookmaker “Betsity” estimate the chances of PSG in the first place in the French championship at 99%. Read more at legalbet .
What does the 2030 World Cup have to do with it?
Applications for the 2030 World Cup opened in June 2022, with the host nation to be selected in 2024.
Among the applicants, several companies were formed:
l Morocco, Spain and Portugal;
l Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile;
l Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Greece.
The use of several countries in the applications is explained by the fact that from 2026 the World Cup will consist of 48 teams.
South America’s joint bid first came to light in 2017 when Luis Suarez (Uruguay) and Lionel Messi (Argentina) teamed up to promote their countries.
However, in May 2022, Messi signed an agreement to promote the state of Saudi Arabia, although it is only aimed at developing tourism in this country. The duration and terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The media previously reported that Messi’s deal could be worth $25 million.
The state’s goal is linked to 2030 and is described as a blueprint for economic and social reform that opens Saudi Arabia to the world. It follows from this that the bid to host the World Cup in 2030 is closely related to the development of tourism.
But there are doubts that the Saudis will actually complete their application for the World Cup. Morocco’s participation in Spain and Portugal’s bid could take away votes from the Middle East and North African bloc, which could support Saudi Arabia. Other Messi contracts
For the Argentine, this is one of countless partnerships. Lately, Messi made a $20 million deal to promote the Socios cryptocurrency token and also became the face of the NFT (Non-Fungible Token) based Sorare game.
He has also secured sponsorship deals with Adidas, Pepsi, Budweiser, Ooredoo, Pro Evolution Soccer, Louis Vuitton, Israeli company Orcam, Dubai Expo, Cirque du Soleil’s own show, and Chinese dairy company Mengniu.
Forbes has calculated that the striker made over $120 million last year.
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