Barcelona (AFP)
Barcelona, runners-up to the Spanish Football League, expressed its “anger”, after the daily newspaper “El Mundo” published information regarding the terms of renewing the contract of its former Argentine star Lionel Messi in 2020, which ultimately did not bear fruit.
And the newspaper pointed out that Messi, and in order to continue playing with the Catalan club until after the end of his contract, which was to expire in June 2021, was ready, in 2020 in the midst of the spread of the “Covid-19” epidemic, to accept a 20% salary cut, but the request for his refund. During the next two years at 3% interest, he also demanded a €10 million bonus for renewal and a reduction in the penalty clause to a nominal amount of €10,000.
These demands were contained in emails exchanged between the player’s father and agent Jorge Messi, the player’s lawyer and Catalan club officials, including then-president Joan Bartomeu, which El Mundo had access to.
“FC Barcelona expresses its outrage at the deliberate leak of information that is part of a legal process,” the Catalan club said in a statement, hinting that it might file a lawsuit against the newspaper.
According to “El Mundo”, the player would also request a room in the Camp Nou for his family and the family of “Uruguayan” Luis Suarez, and sponsor a special trip for Messi’s family to Argentina at Christmas, or a salary increase in the event of a tax increase.
The newspaper reported that Messi then received “74.9 million euros net annually” in June 2020, and after several negotiations, Barcelona did not agree to reduce the player’s penalty clause, or pay a bonus of 10 million euros.
And she added that Messi remained committed to his demands as well, and “at the end of August 2020, just two months after the last contacts, he sent Borovax asking for his departure from the club.”
On Wednesday, Barcelona expressed regret that El Mundo boasts of having access to a huge amount of documents and emails in the possession of the Persagate scandal investigation, while this information and these documents “have not yet been shared with the parties.”
The “Persagate” scandal, revealed by Radio Cadena Ser in 2020, relates to the club’s involvement in contracting a public relations company to carry out a defamation campaign on social networks against Bartomeu’s opponents and personalities such as Messi, Gerard Pique, former coach Pep Guardiola and the current Xavi Hernandez.
The Catalan club confirmed that the published documents “have nothing to do with the investigation of the case, and their use harms the club’s reputation and confidentiality.”
Barcelona concluded its statement by saying, “For this reason, and in order to protect the rights of FC Barcelona, the legal interests of the FC Barcelona are already studying the appropriate measures to be taken.”