Neymar will reportedly earn €25m a season after tax with his new Barcelona contract, €3m more than Lionel Messi.
The Catalan giants confirmed that the Brazilian international had signed a new deal on Friday, with Paris Saint-Germain amongst the European giants monitoring his situation.
However,, he has instead now tied himself to the club until 2021, and will see his release clause gradually increase the deeper he gets into the deal.
According to Marca, Barca were forced to offer terms well above what they had initially planned for, and that in turn has led to Neymar now supposedly earning more than his Argentine teammate.
Although the 24-year-old still earns far less off the pitch, it remains to be seen whether or not the fact that he is now regarded as the world’s most valuable player in terms of his salary in football effects relationships and further negotiations in future at the club.
One of the suggestions behind Neymar’s possible exit earlier this summer was that he was unhappy with being in Messi’s shadow which in turn would potentially prevent him from winning major individual honours such as the Ballon d’Or.
The Brazilian forward was criticised last season when Barca suffered a dip in form that threatened to derail their season too, and so he is seemingly considered an easy scapegoat when things go wrong at the Nou Camp.
However, he appeared to put that all behind him by signing the new deal, but now it will be intriguing to see if that has a knock-on effect with Messi who may or may not be annoyed by the new terms that his teammate has received.
Should he desire improved terms himself now that he’s aware of the new deal, it could even put the club in a tough spot financially if he asks for an increase.
Barca supporters will of course be delighted that their attacking trident is seemingly in place for years to come, but there is still various threats that could rock the boat.