LUIS SUAREZ has confirmed that Lionel Messi demanded a VIP box in his Barcelona contract.
Prior to his 2021 move to Paris Saint-Germain, Messi remained locked in contract negotiations with Barcelona.
Reports had suggested the Argentine had requested a VIP box for both his own and Suarez’s families at the Camp Nou during the talks in 2020.
And now Suarez appears to have confirmed these rumours.
When asked about the demands, he said: “These are normal wishes for any elite player.
“I had my own box in Atletico, and here in Uruguay too. All the leaks make me laugh.”
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As well as these executive boxes, the 35-year-old wanted a signing-on bonus of £8.7million paired with a three-year deal with an optional extension.
He also asked for a private jet to be laid on to allow he and his family to fly back to Argentina over Christmas.
This was on top of the £65m in wages he wanted which would rise by 10 per cent every season – on top of a further annual interest worth three per cent.
The package as a whole ended up being worth a whopping £492m.
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Not that this deterred the Blaugrana, who had accepted all the terms except for the signing-on bonus and a release clause which would be set at just £8,700 – which would have given Messi freewill to terminate his deal whenever he pleased.
With Barcelona struggling during Messi’s latter years, he was becoming unhappy.
And then with the club selling Suarez to Atletico Madrid the situation only became worse.
The irony in the present day becomes apparent however, considering Messi wanted to stay in 2021 but was forced out due to the club being over La Liga wage caps.
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However, with his contract at the French champions up next summer it remains to be seen where he will end up.
SunSport exclusively revealed earlier this week that Messi had no concrete offers on the table, with Messi set to decide on his future after the World Cup.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
