Lionel Messi became the world's highest-paid soccer player on Friday when he agreed to a new contract with Barcelona.
The deal keeps him with the club until 2019 and will pay him astounding 16.3 million pounds-a-year ($27.41 million), reports The Telegraph. The new contract pushes him past Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo as the best-paid player.
That last bit isn't a surprise as The Guardian notes that it had been reported that Messi wanted to be paid even better than the Portuguese star if he was to sign a new contract.
With Messi now in place for the immediate future, Barcelona is in better shape after the club was found to have violated rules regarding signing minors and was slapped with a one-year transfer ban. The ban isn't currently in effect since they are appealing the decision.
In 30 league appearances this season with Barca, the superstar has managed to score 28 goals, a number which jumps to 41 when all matches are counted.
The deal with Messi comes just a night ahead of the club's huge title match against Atletico Madrid in La Liga.