The yearly earnings of the Argentine forward has
been used to emphasise the pay gap between
sexes
UN Women, an entity of the United Nations, has
highlighted the yearly earnings of Barcelona superstar
Lionel Messi as an example in their campaign to reduce
the wage gap between men and women in sport.
The intergoverment organisation utilised their Facebook
page to highlight the US$84 million-a-year income from
his salary, bonuses, commercial deals and other
payments being nearly double of the combined annual
wage ($42.6m) of the 1,693 women footballers in the top
seven leagues.
"One male soccer player makes almost double the
combined salaries of all players in the top seven women's
soccer leagues," the UN post read.
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"During the Womens World Cup 2019, join UN Women in
demanding equal pay for women in sport."
Pay discrimination has been a hot topic during the
Women's World Cup in France, with 28 U.S. women's
national team players currently embroiled in a lawsuit with
U.S. Soccer over wage issues.
The lawsuit, which was filed in March, is being led by
current USWNT stars Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Carli
Lloyd and Becky Sauerbrunn.
They are seeking financial damages and a stop to
"discriminatory practices" allegedly used by the
US football governing body in regards to salaries.
U.S. Soccer, which disputes the charges of gender
discrimination, has agreed to a mediation hearing with the
aggrieved players that is scheduled to be held at the
conclusion of the World Cup.
The USWNT are into the quarter-finals of the tournament
and will face hosts France in Paris on June 28, with the
winner to face England or Norway women in the semi-
finals.