Billionaire Jorge Mas persuaded the world¡¯s biggest soccer star to join a bottom-of-the-barrel team that¡¯s languishing in last place in its league.
Now he needs to make it pay off.
With Lionel Messi and Apple on his side, the 60-year-old construction executive is seeking to upend the business of U.S. soccer and make it a lot more profitable. The lynchpin of his strategy was signing Messi to a contract that jettisoned a traditional cash-for-services agreement in favor of revenue sharing accords and an equity stake in the team ¡ª a deal-making strategy closer to Wall Street¡¯s playbook.
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