Football is for the money before passion and loyalty.
Sorry, but what?! The first reason to start playing any sport is money?! Really now? This thinking has brought us to the point where we are and everything is sooooo
beautiful! Money, money, and money, ffs...

No player in any sport is to blame for the money he gets or can get. The "teams" are companies (and one of the best and biggest "laundries"...) that see and treat them as assets and how they will bring them as much money as possible. There are very few cases of teams whose owners have watched the sport or even know it. They are not interested in this, they don't care in the slightest. If they profit from any transfer, renewal, etc they will do it no matter what it costs.
Huge players have passed from the football planet and such money they would not dare to ask for, nor even imagine. Yes, Messi is one of them without a doubt, but we must admit that the situation has gotten out of hand as far as the financial part is concerned. And IMO, that's not good at all.
When we discuss this money issue in general, we also discuss it in a relation to Messi and Barcelona. If this huge financial marriage had been peaceful existing between Messi and Barcelona, when the club had financial issues, Messi would have taken a pay cut and support them even for one season.
There was no love lost between the Man and his former club. The tears seem crocodile. And today some Barcelona fanatics are still fantasizing that Messi will return to Barcelona before retirement.