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Barcelona just made Neymar wealthy. Can they afford to pay him?
Neymar has been handed a salary comparable to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Good for him! FC Barcelona still have to find all the money to pay the bills, though.
Denis Doyle/Getty Images
Barcelona fans will have been thrilled to awake to the news that Neymar has signed a five-year contract extension, ending speculation about a move to PSG or Manchester United. Hard figures haven't been reported anywhere yet, but one of Neymar's representatives says his client's contract is the largest in the sport. If this is true, Neymar just quintupled his wages.
Can Barcelona afford to pay both Neymar and Lionel Messi, along with the rest of their squad? Well, the answer is closer to “probably” than “definitely” at the moment. Barcelona’s wage bill was 70 percent of their revenue last season, which is enormous. Their new Nike kit deal will help, but Barca still need to open up some new revenue streams.
Their kit sponsorship deal expired and they’re still negotiating a new one. There have been talks over selling the naming rights to the Camp Nou, but that hasn’t come to fruition yet. And unlike the Bundesliga and Premier League, TV rights for La Liga teams aren’t skyrocketing constantly.
If Barcelona fails to get their financial house in order, they’re not going to be in serious trouble. Neymar will always have enormous resale value -- Manchester United, for instance, would happily meet his buyout clause -- so it made sense to pay whatever it took to keep him. But in signing him, Barca are banking on future sponsorship deals coming through with the knowledge that they can sell a player if it doesn’t work out, not paying what they know they can afford right now.
Goal of the day
Robert Lewandowski’s second-minute strike for Poland. (r/soccer)
In the news
Manchester City has signed Nolito. (Manchester City FC)
La Liga is just La Liga now after dropping their sponsor name. (La Liga)
Hatem Ben Arfa has signed for PSG. (@PSG_inside)
Crystal Palace has announced the signings of both Steve Mandanda and Andros Townsend. (CPFC)
Ryan Giggs won’t be on Jose Mourinho’s staff at Manchester United. (BBC)
Jan Vertonghen is out for the Euros, and probably the start of the EPL season. (Guardian)
Vicente Del Bosque has confirmed he’s quitting as Spain boss. (AS)
Milan sale watch: they’re saying July 7 now. How long have we been covering this now? Two years? (Football Italia)
You should be reading
Ryan O’Hanlon on Eden Hazard, who might be just good, or great, or amazing. (Ringer)
Zito Madu on Lionel Messi not being Diego Maradona. (Paste)
Barney Ronay on the strange hatred for England players, and Raheem Sterling in particular. (Guardian)
From the rumor mill
Please don’t take anything in this section too seriously, for your own sanity.
Years after lowballing him and refusing to play him, Manchester United is trying to bring Paul Pogba back. (Star)
Leicester is trying to lock up defender Michael Keane. (Mirror)
AZ’s Vincent Janssen is disappointed he can’t go to Tottenham yet. (Guardian)
Atlético Madrid wants to sign Gonzalo Higuain. (Marca)
Marco Pjaca is expected to sign for Inter Milan. (Football Italia)
Bayern Munich is interested in signing Laurent Koscielny. (Bild)
N’Golo Kante looks most likely to choose Chelsea over Real Madrid, Arsenal and Manchester United. (Telegraph)
What happened on Thursday
What to watch on Friday (click for listings, all times ET)
Euro 2016: Wales vs. Belgium (3 p.m.) -- Gareth Bale vs. the Red Devils’ legion of EPL stars. Should be great.
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