The numbers behind Lionel Messi‘s new contract are staggering.

When his former teammate, Neymar, left Barcelona for PSG in the summer, it was possible because the French club triggered Neymar’s €222million release clause.

If anyone wants to get Messi, they’ll have to pay three times that. Safe to say, the Neymar transfer taught Barcelona the new definition of a hands-off release clause.

That wasn’t the only way in which Messi’s new deal was influenced by Neymar. If the Barcelona star earns all the bonuses in his contract, he’ll be the highest-paid player in the world – usurping, you guessed it, Neymar and his recently-inked PSG contract. Expect a back-and-forth in that contest over the next few years.

Messi’s contract means he could pay the salary of every first-team player at Huddersfield Town, or Brighton and Hove Albion, or buy a Ferrari every week and still have money left over.

But if anyone’s wondering whether any footballer is worth that sort of money, just remember exactly what Messi brings to Barcelona, what he’s been bringing for nearly 15 years. He’s synonymous with the club, and to make sure he stayed, Barcelona would have paid anything.

Get the full lowdown on Messi’s new contract in the video above.