Apparently, taking money from Barcelona is something Lionel Messi will not feel bad about, even if he entered a tug of war with the team that even saw him close to leave them last summer.
According to a source consulted by ESPN, the Argentine ace did not hesitate to collect a hefty "loyalty bonus" included in his contract. The Blaugrana clause honored the contract signed with Messi and paid the player almost $45M, which adds to another $45M that was paid to Messi back in February for the same reason.
This kind of clause is not something strange for Barcelona, as legends such as Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, or Carles Puyol were offered the same clause by their board. The main difference between someone like Puyol and Messi is that the center back refused to collect a single penny from that money, while Messi chose to keep the money despite the club's struggling finances and his desire to leave the club.
Sources close to the Catalan club suggest that this move could be a hint on Messi's intentions to keep on playing for the Blaugrana side, even if he has also been linked to teams such as PSG and Manchester City in the last couple of weeks.
