Barcelona presidential rivals insist Messi is worth it

Two of the candidates in Barcelona's presidential election, Joan Laporta and Victor Font, insisted on Monday that Lionel Messi "generates more" than he earns, after his "colossal" club contract was published in a Spanish newspaper. "Leo generates much more income than the money he costs," Joan Laporta, who is seeking to regain the presidency, told Rac1 radio. "We have done a study and he generates a third of Barca's total income." "It's not only the economic return," Laporta said. "But also the emotional and sporting return, and the vivid moments he gives us." Messi is in the last year of his contract. On Sunday, under the headline "the colossal contract that ruins Barcelona", El Mundo published details of the current deal, signed in 2017. It said Messi could have earned 555 million euros ($674 million) by the time the deal expires. Barcelona responded by saying it was not the source of the leak and it p