The 10 most outrageous contract demands after Lionel Messi’s extravagant requests 76
The 10 most outrageous contract demands after Lionel Messi’s extravagant requests 77
The 10 most outrageous contract demands after Lionel Messi’s extravagant requests 78
The 10 most outrageous contract demands after Lionel Messi’s extravagant requests 79
The 10 most outrageous contract demands after Lionel Messi’s extravagant requests 80
The 10 most outrageous contract demands after Lionel Messi’s extravagant requests 81
The 10 most outrageous contract demands after Lionel Messi’s extravagant requests 82
The 10 most outrageous contract demands after Lionel Messi’s extravagant requests 83
The 10 most outrageous contract demands after Lionel Messi’s extravagant requests 84
The 10 most outrageous contract demands after Lionel Messi’s extravagant requests 85
The 10 most outrageous contract demands after Lionel Messi’s extravagant requests 86
If you don’t ask, you don’t get it.
That certainly seemed to be the mindset Lionel Messi had when he had to renegotiate his contract with Barcelona in 2020.
Details of his demands were leaked to the public by the Spanish media on Tuesday night, with it revealed that the Argentine star wanted the Catalan giants to provide his and Luis Suarez’s family with executive boxes at the Nou Camp.
Lionel Messi made some extravagant demands during his talks with Barcelona in 2020
That wasn’t all, as Messi also demanded a sign-up fee of 8.7 million. GBP, a 10 per cent pay rise in 2021-22 and 2022-23 with three per cent annual interest and a private jet to fly his family to and from Argentina every Christmas.
To cap it all, he wanted the club to lower his release clause from £610m. for just £8,700.
Barcelona agreed to all but two of Messi’s demands – they were unwilling to lower his release clause to £8,700 and they wanted to make his signing bonus conditional on the club’s revenue returning to pre-pandemic levels.
Messi subsequently walked away from renewal discussions and informed the club of his desire to leave. He ended up staying that summer but left to join PSG the following year.
However, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner is far from the only footballer pushing luck at the negotiating table. In fact, attempts to insert bizarre clauses are far more common than some might think.
In light of Messi’s requests being revealed, Sports mail have compiled a list of 10 of the most outrageous contract demands from footballers over the years.
Giuseppe Reina
Reina arrived at German side Arminia Bielefeld in 1996, but only agreed to sign on the dotted line if the club agreed to build him a new house for every year he stayed with them.
He would soon find out that the devil is in the detail. Reina didn’t set the size or type of house he wanted, which Arminia used to their advantage when they sent him a house made of Lego every year.
Reina would end up staying at the club for three years before leaving for Borussia Dortmund in 1999.
Giuseppe Reina wanted a new house for every year he was in Arminia Bielefeld, but ended up getting a Lego house every year
Samuel Eto’o
Eto’o was one of European football’s deadliest strikers in the 2000s, so it was a major coup for Anzhi Makhachkala when they signed him in 2011. He just had one small problem to solve – he didn’t want to stay in Dagestan where the team is based.
As a result, he told the club that he wanted a private jet to allow him to fly to Moscow and live there.
It meant he had to be flown 1,200 miles just to train with his teammates, but Anzhi agreed to his demands and stuck with Eto’o for two years.
Samuel Eto’o had to be flown to training at Anzhi Makhachkala so he could live in Moscow
Keisuke Honda
The former AC Milan midfielder decided to try his luck in Brazil in 2020 when he agreed to sign for Botafogo.
However, the deal was far from straightforward as Honda told the club he wanted an armored, bulletproof vehicle and extra security guards when he traveled to Rio de Janeiro.
His request was granted, but Honda only ended up playing 27 games for Botafogo before being released.
Keisuke Honda wanted a bulletproof vehicle and extra security during his time at Botafogo
Ronaldinho
Ronaldinho lit up European football in his prime, winning the Ballon d’Or and the Champions League during his time at Barcelona.
He opted to return to his homeland to play for Flamengo in 2011, but was clearly keen to ensure he had enough downtime to do his own thing away from the pitch.
He ordered the Brazilian outfit to insert a clause in his contract allowing him to party twice a week. They obliged and Ronaldinho continued to deliver when he played, scoring 19 goals in 44 appearances for the team.
Ronaldinho demanded that he be given two nights a week to party while at Flamengo
Rolf-Christel Guie-Mien
The Congolese midfielder completed his move from Karlsruher to Eintracht Frankfurt in 1999, but only agreed to the transfer after having a certain condition set in his contract.
Guie-Mien was clearly not a good hand in the kitchen and demanded that his new club pay for his wife to have cooking lessons.
Eintracht agreed to his strange request and Guie-Mien went on to have the most successful period of his career at the club, scoring 19 goals in 95 games.
Rolf-Christel Guie-Mien made Eintracht Frankfurt pay for his wife’s cooking lessons
Paul Gascoigne
Gascoigne was arguably the hottest prospect in British football in the late 80s and he was not short of opportunities as Manchester United and Tottenham chased his signature.
It was the latter club who managed to persuade him to join them, but they had to push the boat out to get a deal over the line.
Gascoigne, known for his “naughty-chappy” personality, told Spurs he wanted them to buy his father a new house and a new car, while sorting out his sister with a sunbed.
Deciding they could not afford to miss out on signing the mercurial talent, the north London club agreed to Gascoigne’s demands.
Paul Gascoigne persuaded Tottenham to buy his father a car and a house and his sister a sunbed
Moise Kean
Kean came through Juventus’ academy and burst onto the scene as a teenager.
Contract negotiations ensued and his father Biorou told the Italian giants that he wanted them to buy him a fleet of tractors for his farm in the Ivory Coast or he would make his son run out of contract and leave on a free transfer .
It has been reported that Juventus initially agreed to Biorou’s demands, but then negotiated another deal with the player himself that did not involve tractors.
Juventus would go on to sell Kean for £27.5m to Everton in 2019, but have since re-signed him on a two-year loan deal to be made permanent in 2024.
Moise Kean’s father wanted Juventus to pay for a fleet of tractors for his son to sign
Neymar
Neymar joined Barcelona as a 21-year-old and was billed as the next Brazilian superstar to come to Europe to follow in the footsteps of Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.
Clearly aware of his pulling power at such a young age, he wanted to insert a clause in his contract that meant he would have his friends from Brazil flown over every two months, with Barcelona footing the bill for the flights.
At the time, Barcelona were trying to battle arch-rivals Real Madrid for his signature, so it’s no big surprise that they were happy to agree to Neymar’s request.
Barcelona agreed to fly Neymar’s friends over from Brazil every two months when he joined
Emmanuel Adebayor
The former Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham forward looked set to join Lyon in 2016, with the deal close to being completed.
But Adebayor then asked for a mansion overlooking Corsica, a helicopter and a private chef. He would also take Alexandre Lacazette’s No.10 shirt.
Lyon were unwilling to agree to this and the move fell through as he went on to join Turkish side Istanbul Basaksehir the following year.
Emmanuel Adebayor wanted a mansion overlooking Corsica to join Lyon but the club refused
Mauro Icardi
Most players would try to push for one or two lopsided demands to avoid the risk of putting a club off signing them. Then you have Mauro Icardi, whose wife and agent Wanda Nara made no fewer than six demands before the striker agreed to move to Galatasaray earlier this month.
Those six demands included ensuring Icardi had a 24-hour driver on hand, a personal chef and a house with private security.
Nara also wanted a hotel to stay in until December and schools for her children to attend during their stay in Turkey.
Icardi’s move is only on a season-long loan, but Galatasaray decided this wasn’t too much trouble and still went ahead with the deal.
Mauro Icardi joined Galatasaray but only after they agreed to his wife’s six demands