A contract between Messi and Saudi Arabia’s tourism authority provides a glimpse at the details of their multimillion-dollar relationship.
The image shared on Instagram, worth 400 million plus followers on May 9, 2022, was accompanied by a dual-language caption, “Discovering the Red Sea # Visit Saudi.” Hours earlier, he was welcomed to the kingdom by the tourism minister of Saudi Arabia, who had boasted on Twitter that while it was Messi’s first visit to the country, ” it will not be the last.”
Moreover, the details of Messi’s role as a well-compensated pitchman for Saudi Arabia are contained in a previously undisclosed version of his contract with the tourism authority that The New York Times reviewed.
The contract shows that Messi could receive around 22.5 million euros, about 25 million, over three years for little actual work, a few commercial appearances, a handful of social media posts, and some all-expenses-paid vacations to the kingdom with his family and children. He is predicted to share the images of those trips marked with Saudi-approved hashtags with his vast online following.
But furthermore, the document also contains a condition necessary to Saudi officials, which states that Messi can say anything that might “tarnish” Saudi Arabia. This country has faced widespread criticism for its human rights record.
For the past few years, Saudi Arabia has spent billions to take a significant stake in professional sports—purchasing a Premier League soccer team. Championship boxing matches. A stop in the Formula 1 auto racing schedule. And most recently, a bold incursion into professional golf.
Messi recently declined an offer, joining Inter Miami of Major League Soccer In the United States. But, there is no sign that the decision has affected his relationship with the Saudis.
However, in February 2021, just weeks after he signed his contract, Messi wrote a letter to Saudi’s tourism minister, apologizing for being unable to make a scheduled visit. In the previous unreported letter, Messi addressed tourism minister Ahmed -Al-Khateeb as “Your Excellency” and then expressed his “deepest regrets” for his absence. Messi was then playing for F.C. Barcelona wrote that as ” a sportsman,” he had obligations that were impossible to skip.
Until now, the details of Messi’s contract with the tourism authority have been kept secret. It is still being determined if the contract reviewed by the Times is the current version of the deal. Moreover, the document, dated Jan 1, 2021, was signed by Messi and his brother Rodrigo, who serves as his business manager, but Saudi officials still need to sign it.
A review of Messi’s social media postings and travel shows him fulfilling the terms of his contract. His Instagram account, with 470 million followers, has featured a regular stream of Saudi messaging and photographs. On his visit in May, Messi was photographed with his wife and children participating in various family activities: petting horses with his sons, playing games at an arcade, and sitting with a craft artist while holding a woven.
In an open letter, Saudi dissidents pleaded with Messi, writing, ” The Saudi regime wants to use you to launder its reputation.”
However, one of Messi’s recent posts is a picture of the kingdom’s date palm groves and natural attractions. The caption reads: ” Who thought Saudi has so much green?”.
