Lionel Messi, Saudi Arabia and the deal that paid off for both sides

Sports

As the sun set over a seemingly endless expanse of open sea, Lionel Messi took a seat on the edge of a boat, stretched out a leg and posed for the photo that would herald the beginning of his public partnership with Saudi Arabia.

The image, shared with Messi’s more than 400 million followers on Instagram on May 9, 2022, was accompanied by a bilingual caption that read: “Discovery of the Red Sea #VisitSaudi.” Hours earlier, he had been welcomed to the kingdom by Saudi Arabia’s tourism minister, who had bragged on Twitter that although it was Messi’s first visit to the country, “it won’t be the last.”

Messi, who is arguably considered the greatest player in the world, started making money from the new partnership: his photo op in the Red Sea probably netted him about $2 million, the first step in fulfilling his deal with the kingdom worth having. millions more.

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 was reviewed by The New York Times.

The contract shows that Messi could receive as much as 22.5 million euros, about $25 million, over three years for little real work: a few commercial appearances, a handful of social media posts and a number of fully paid vacations to the kingdom with his family and children. He is expected to share images from those trips – marked with a Saudi Arabia-approved hashtag – with his huge online following.

But the document also contains a condition that is important to Saudi officials: Messi must not say anything that could “tarnish” Saudi Arabia, a country that has been widely criticized for its human rights record.

Those details of the deal with Messi, who won the World Cup with Argentina in December, offer a glimpse into the inside of the oil-rich kingdom that is using its wealth to hire big athletes in its bid to polish its global image. Critics of Saudi Arabia have derided the strategy as sports washing: using sports and sports figures to whitewash its human rights record, the treatment of women, the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and other authoritarian actions.

In recent years, Saudi Arabia has spent billions to take a major stake in professional sports: the purchase of a Premier League football team. Boxing Championship. A stop on the Formula 1 motor racing schedule. And, most recently, a brutal foray into professional golf.

The kingdom has offered hundreds of millions of extra dollars to lure Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and dozens of other football stars to play in the country’s national league. Messi recently turned down a similar offer, choosing Inter Miami from Major League Soccer in the United States instead. But there is no sign so far that the decision has affected his relationship with the Saudis. In fact, he seemed anxious to stay in their good graces.

In February 2021, just weeks after signing his contract, Messi wrote a letter to the Saudi tourism minister apologizing for not being able to make a scheduled visit. In the previously unreported letter, Messi addressed tourism minister Ahmed al-Khateeb with “Your Excellency” and, in unusually florid prose, expressed his “deepest regret” over his absence. Messi was playing for FC Barcelona at the time, and he wrote that as an “athlete” he had obligations he couldn’t skip: a league match against Real Betis followed by a match in the Spanish Cup.

The Saudis eventually got their visit. The most recent came last month, a year after his first Saudi tourism post on Instagram, when Messi took a short mid-season break to the kingdom – which, like all his previous visits, would have him a seven-figure payday delivered under the terms of its Saudi tourism contract.

By that time, Messi had left Barcelona and was playing for the French team Paris St.-Germain. When he returned from his stay in Saudi Arabia, the French club suspended him from training for an unauthorized absence. Messi apologized to his team and his fans with an explanation suggesting the trip was not optional: “I couldn’t cancel it.”

Until now, the details of Messi’s contract with the tourism authority have been a closely guarded secret. It is not clear whether the contract reviewed by The Times is the current version of the deal. It was shared by someone with direct knowledge of the settlement between Messi and the Saudis on condition of anonymity as the person was not authorized to disclose details of the deal. The document, dated January 1, 2021, is signed by Messi and his brother Rodrigo, who serves as his business manager, but it is not signed by Saudi officials.

The terms in the document match the way Messi has used his social media accounts to promote the kingdom, as well as the promotional visits he has made to the country.

The contract is specific about Messi’s obligations and about the money to be paid to fulfill each obligation:

About $2 million, nearly $1.8 million, for a minimum of one five-day family vacation per year, or alternating two annual vacations of three days each. The travel expenses and five-star accommodations would be paid by the Saudi government for Messi and up to 20 relatives and friends.
Another $2 million for promoting Saudi Arabia on its social media accounts 10 times a year, separate from promoting its vacations to the kingdom.
About $2 million more to participate in an annual tourism campaign. (He and the Saudi authority shared the first campaign, an elaborately shot desert video, in November.)
Another $2 million for charity work and performances.

Few people were willing to discuss the terms of Messi’s deal. Pablo Negre Abello, who is responsible for Messi’s commercial deals, cited confidentiality clauses found in all of Messi’s contracts. Abello suggested that a Times reporter contact the tourism authority. Officials there did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Rayco García Cabrera, a former footballer who brokered the meeting between Messi’s management and Saudi officials, including the tourism minister, said the deal was worth “a small sum” compared to the huge salaries the country pays stars like Ronaldo and Benzema. But, Garcia said, Messi agreed to become a tourism spokesman because “he believes in Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia’s vision”.

“I was in the middle of this,” García added, “and I was so surprised when Messi didn’t ask for a huge amount.” García said he did not know the exact terms of the agreement.

A review of Messi’s social media posts and travel shows that he appears to be meeting the terms of his contract. His Instagram account – with 470 million followers it is one of the largest on the platform – has been featured an ordinary stream of Saudi posts and photos. During his visit in May, Messi was photographed with his wife and children participating in a variety of family activities: petting horses with his sons, playing games in an arcade and sitting with a craft artist while holding a woven hat.

In 2021, amid news reports linking Messi and Saudi Arabia, relatives of Saudi dissidents urged the player to reject the endorsement offer he eventually accepted. In an open letterthey begged him, writing, “The Saudi regime wants to use you to whitewash its reputation.”

Saudi officials have dismissed that charge. Messi, meanwhile, has said nothing about it. Instead, he has expressed his amazement at the natural beauty to be found in Saudi Arabia.

One of Messi’s recent posts is a photo of the kingdom’s date palm groves and other natural landmarks. The caption reads: “Who thought Saudi Arabia has so much greenery?”