Messi is world's best paid player, says Barcelona president

Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi celebrates Barcelona’s third goal during the Spanish league football match Real Madrid CF vs FC Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on April 23, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / OSCAR DEL POZO

Barcelona’s Argentinian striker Lionel Messi, who recently extended his contract with the Catalan club, is “the best paid player in the world,” club president Josep Maria Bartomeu said Friday.
Barcelona announced Wednesday that Messi had agreed to extend his contract until 2021, in a deal that will keep the five times winner of the Ballon D’Or at the club until he is 34.

No financial terms were disclosed but Bartomeu told the Barcelona sports daily Mundo Deportivo: “He is the best player in the world and he is paid like the best in the world and in the history of football.

“He is the best paid sports player, because no one brings as much to his club as Leo Messi.”

Prior to his contract extension, Messi was the third highest paid sportsman in the world with an income of $80, million of which 53 million was in salary and bonuses, according the ranking published by Forbes magazine in June.

His great rival, Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, topped the ranking with $93 million, of which 58 million was in salary and bonuses, ahead of American basketball player LeBron James ($86,2 million of which 31,2 million in salary and bonuses).

I see Lionel messi as the best player- Guardiola

Pep Guardiola has described Lionel Messi as “the best player I have ever seen”, with the Barcelona star making the game look “simple”, Goal reports.

The now Manchester City manager spent four years working with the mercurial Argentine at Camp Nou between 2008 and 2012.

They collected an enviable haul of major honours together, with Guardiola the tactical mastermind and Messi the on-field inspiration.

In spite of those successes, and many more which have followed, the debate lingers on regarding who is the finest player on the planet, with Real Madrid talisman Cristiano Ronaldo part of any discussion.

Guardiola, though, is no doubt as to who he prefers, telling L’Esportiu on Messi, “He is the best player I have ever seen.

“The best thing about him is not what he does but how simple he makes everything look.

“He is not just the best player because he can dribble past three or four players, it is because he does it better than anyone in the world.”

Guardiola has also had his say on the end of another productive era at Camp Nou, with Luis Enrique having vacated Barca’s managerial post after three years at the helm.

His final campaign saw Real wrestle the Liga title away from Catalonia, while also claiming the Champions League crown, but Guardiola believes Enrique has left solid foundations in place for successor Ernesto Valverde to build on.

He added,  “I see Barca a lot better than how they see it in Barcelona.

“Luis Enrique’s work has been excellent. With him, when they were playing well, they were almost unbeatable.

“They have played very good football, while Messi is still doing it, and I do not think that the players who have signed are bad players.”

Why I was embarrassed to speak to Messi – Neymar

Neymar has revealed he was “embarrassed” to talk to Lionel Messi, when he first arrived at Barcelona from Santos in 2013.

The Brazilian says he felt like he was in a video game, any time he entered the dressing room and saw some of the players.

Neymar attended his Mess’s star-studded wedding in Rosario on Friday, a sign of the close bond he has developed with the club legend. But it was not always like that.

“I would walk into the dressing room and I would look to one side and see Messi and then I would look to the other side and I would see Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique and Dani Alves,” Neymar told Brazilian TV show Caldeirao do Huck.

“I thought that I was inside a video game. One day I was playing with them on the games console and then the next day I was there next to them.

“The first month was very difficult and to begin with I was embarrassed to speak to Messi, as these guys were idols. They were idols to me, while I was the new arrival and still very young.”

Messi marries childhood sweetheart in Argentina hometown

Lionel Messi and his childhood sweetheart married Friday night at a ceremony in his Argentine hometown attended by some of the biggest names in soccer.

About 250 guests attended the marriage of Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo at a luxury hotel. They included Messi's Barcelona teammates Neymar, Luis Suarez and Gerard Pique, who was joined by his wife, Colombian pop star Shakira.

Argentines were abuzz over the wedding in Rosario, an agricultural hub and the country's third-largest city about 300 kilometers (186 miles) northwest of Buenos Aires.

About 150 journalists were allowed to cover the event, but had no direct access to the ceremony or the party afterward.

Curious onlookers gathered before the wedding near the heavily guarded site hoping to snap photos of the soccer stars.

"We think it's great that Messi has come to Rosario to get married," said Julio Sosa, who cleans windows for a living.

Messi, 30, grew up in a lower-middle-class neighborhood in Rosario along with two brothers and a sister. His bride, 29, was the cousin of a close Messi friend and the two shared a close relationship from a young age.

Messi and Roccuzzo stayed in touch after he left to play soccer in Spain at age 13 and they eventually started a romantic relationship in the late 2000s.

Roccuzzo moved to Barcelona, where the couple live with their two sons: 4-year-old Thiago and 1-year-old Mateo. But they often return to their native Rosario.

"Messi could have had this wedding wherever he liked — Dubai, the moon. He can pay any plane ticket to anyone, but he chose the city that's in his heart," said Leandro Macaya.

Messi, a five-time FIFA world player of the year, has faced criticism in Argentina because he has never brought the country a major title, in contrast to his repeated successes playing for Barcelona. But he is praised both at home and abroad for keeping his common touch.

"He was always the same and he never changed," said Diego Vallejos, a childhood friend who was invited to the wedding.

"Despite everything that he's accomplished in life, he's still the same simple kid, the skinny dude that I grew up with. It's hard to explain the feeling — I'm both a friend and a fan."

PHOTOS: Stars, glitz and glamour as Messi weds childhood sweetheart

Former Barcelona players Xavi Alonso, Carles Puyol and their wives pose on a red carpet upon arrival to attend Argentine football star Lionel Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo’s wedding in Rosario, Santa Fe province, Argentina on June 30, 2017.
Footballers and celebrities including pop singer Shakira gathered for the “wedding of the century” in Lionel Messi’s Argentine hometown as the Barcelona superstar prepared to marry his childhood sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo. / AFP PHOTO / EITAN ABRAMOVICH

Former Barcelona player Cameroonian Samuel Eto’o and his wife walk on a red carpet upon arrival to attend Argentine football star Lionel Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo’s wedding in Rosario, Santa Fe province, Argentina on June 30, 2017.
Footballers and celebrities including pop singer Shakira gathered for the “wedding of the century” in Lionel Messi’s Argentine hometown as the Barcelona superstar prepared to marry his childhood sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo. / AFP PHOTO / EITAN ABRAMOVICH

Former Barcelona players Xavi Alonso, Cesc Fabregas and Carles Puyol and their wives pose on a red carpet upon arrival to attend Argentine football star Lionel Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo’s wedding in Rosario, Santa Fe province, Argentina on June 30, 2017.
Footballers and celebrities including pop singer Shakira gathered for the “wedding of the century” in Lionel Messi’s Argentine hometown as the Barcelona superstar prepared to marry his childhood sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo. / AFP PHOTO / EITAN ABRAMOVICH

Chelsea’s football player Cesc Fabregas and his wife pose on a red carpet upon arrival to attend Argentine football star Lionel Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo’s wedding in Rosario, Santa Fe province, Argentina on June 30, 2017.
Footballers and celebrities including pop singer Shakira gathered for the “wedding of the century” in Lionel Messi’s Argentine hometown as the Barcelona superstar prepared to marry his childhood sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo. / AFP PHOTO / EITAN ABRAMOVICH

Manchester’s City footballer Argentine Sergio Aguero and his girlfriend walk on a red carpet upon arrival to attend Argentine football star Lionel Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo’s wedding in Rosario, Santa Fe province, Argentina on June 30, 2017.
Footballers and celebrities including pop singer Shakira gathered for the “wedding of the century” in Lionel Messi’s Argentine hometown as the Barcelona superstar prepared to marry his childhood sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo. / AFP PHOTO / EITAN ABRAMOVICH

Barcelona’s football player Jordi Alba and his wife pose on a red carpet during Barcelona’s football star Lionel Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo wedding in Rosario, Santa Fe province, Argentina on June 30, 2017.
Footballers and celebrities including pop singer Shakira gathered Friday for the “wedding of the century” in Lionel Messi’s Argentine hometown as the Barcelona superstar prepared to marry his childhood sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo. / AFP PHOTO / EITAN ABRAMOVICH

Uruguayan football player Luis Suarez and his wife Sofia Balbi pose on a red carpet during Barcelona’s football star Lionel Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo wedding in Rosario, Santa Fe province, Argentina on June 30, 2017.
Footballers and celebrities including pop singer Shakira gathered Friday for the “wedding of the century” in Lionel Messi’s Argentine hometown as the Barcelona superstar prepared to marry his childhood sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo. / AFP PHOTO / EITAN ABRAMOVICH

Barcelona’s football player Javier Mascherano (L) poses with other guests on a red carpet during Argentine football star Lionel Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo’s wedding in Rosario, Santa Fe province, Argentina on June 30, 2017.
Footballers and celebrities including pop singer Shakira gathered Friday for the “wedding of the century” in Lionel Messi’s Argentine hometown as the Barcelona superstar prepared to marry his childhood sweetheart