$27 Million Per Season

Who ever said sport does not pay, was obviously playing the wrong sport and no doubt they will regret it when they learn how much you can make – if you’re good.

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (26) has signed a restructured contract extension that makes the Argentina international the world’s highest-paid football player.

Barcelona had originally announced the deal on Friday and says it was officially signed on Monday. The Catalan club says Messi “was very motivated by the deal.”

Messi will earn a reported $27 million per season with further incentives able to drive the deal up to $34 million per year until the contract ends in 2017-18 — surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo’s deal with Real Madrid. Messi also has a buy-out clause of $343 million.

Messi’s previous contract ran through the 2017-18 season and was worth a reported $22 million per season.

Messi’s deal comes two days after Barcelona lost its Spanish league title to Atletico Madrid following a 1-1 draw between the teams at its Camp Nou Stadium.

Messi is the first and only player to top-score in four consecutive Champions League campaigns, and also holds the record for the most hat-tricks scored (4) in the history of the competition.

In March 2012, Messi made Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match.