New leak, outrage, lawsuit?
Lionel Messi is causing fresh unrest at Barcelona
09/22/2022, 3:12 p.m
Lionel Messi has long since left Barcelona. It has been 16 months since he last appeared in the Catalan outfit. But the club legend is now causing new unrest. A newspaper report about failed contract negotiations in the summer of 2020 leaves an outraged club behind.
Lionel Messi continues to make headlines at FC Barcelona as a Paris St. Germain player. A supposed leak is now causing the next scandal. The Catalan giant is threatening the newspaper “El Mundo” with a lawsuit. On Wednesday, she published numerous details about the failed contract negotiations in summer 2020.
A year later, the Argentine announced his departure from FC Barcelona in tears. Debts of 1.35 billion euros had made it impossible to extend the expiring contract. In the 2020/2021 Corona season alone, the club had accumulated new losses of 481 million euros.
Although Messi and the club’s new president at the time, Joan Laporta, had agreed on a new contract with a salary of around 35 million euros instead of the previous 70 million euros, the heavyweight of world football, sailing in difficult waters, was able to secure the biggest star of the past not afford for decades. They were unable to register the player with the league.
A year earlier, in the summer of 2020, this would have been possible. But the Argentine’s astonishing demands are said to have led to the failure of the negotiations, reported “El Mundo” on Wednesday and drove Barcelona completely crazy.
Barcelona can’t believe it
The demands listed were powerful. Among other things, Messi is said to have a symbolic release clause of 10,000 euros, a signing fee of ten million euros, private boxes at the Camp Nou for his family and those of his friend and then teammate Luis Suárez, guarantees for the repayment of deferred salaries and retrospective commission payments to his brother Rodrigo for his work as a consultant. He was hoping for a new contract until 2023 with an option for another season.
In a published by Barcelona statements the association was quite outraged about the “deliberate leaking of information that is part of a legal process”. “The club regrets that the media outlet in question has boasted of ‘having access to a large number of documents and emails forming part of the Barçagate investigation’, although these documents have not yet been shared with the parties.”
Barçagate is an investigation that has been going on for years and has to do with many things, including then-President Josep Maria Bartomeu, but not with Lionel Messi or his contracts. However, emails regarding the extension were by-catch and were seized by police while investigating the Barçagate case. These emails ended up at “El Mundo”.
The newspaper is now threatened with legal action by the super club. The release of the documents is “an affront to the club’s reputation,” FC Barcelona said, adding that the legal department is reviewing legal action. And Messi? He scored his sixth goal of the season in Paris St. Germain’s 1-0 win at Olympique Lyon at the weekend. There are also eight other assists. He’s long been bigger than any contract he’s ever signed.