Leo Messi and his last day at Barcelona, on 8 August 2021, when he greeted the club in tears. Photo: Xinhua / Marc Gonzalez Aloma / AFP7 / ZUMAPRESS.
The Barcelona on Wednesday expressed through a statement his indignation at what he describes as “the interested leak of some information that would be part of a judicial proceeding” by the newspaper in which the contractual requests for Leone Messi renew the contract with the Barça club in the summer of 2020.
According to information published by the newspaper ‘El Mundo’, Messi has asked to recover with interest (3%) the salary cuts imposed by the pandemic, receive a 10 million bonus for renewal or lower his release clause to 10,000 euros for renew his contract with Barcelona in 2020.
Among other requests, as acknowledged in some emails to which the aforementioned media had access, Messi requested a renewal with “unilateral extension” for his part of the years, and the admission of a 20% reduction in the fixed salary of the 2020 -21 season, which would be recovered in the following two years with an annual interest of 3%.
For all these reasons, assures the Barça club about the information “published today in El Mundo del Siglo XXI, with the title ‘BarçaLeaks, the secret archives of the club, part 1”, his “outrage” before what he considers a “leak of interest of some information that would be part of a judicial proceeding”.
“The Club also regrets that the media boast of having had ‘access to a huge amount of documentation and e-mails that are in possession of the investigation into the Barçagate’ when such information and documentation have not yet been shared with the parties“, he says in a note.
Barcelona believes that the article in question “makes public documents that have nothing to do with the investigation of the case and its use threatens the reputation and confidentiality of the Club“.
For this reason and “with the aim of protecting the rights of FC Barcelona, the legal services of the Club are already studying the appropriate measures to be taken “.
The publication of “The world”
According to the investigation published by the Spanish media, in the emails exchanged between former president Josep Maria Bartomeu, Leo’s father, Jorge Messi, and the Argentine’s lawyers, the payment of “loyalty bonuses awaiting collection with interest”.
Other requests are the supply of a box at the Camp Nou for the families of Messi and Luis Suárez; the payment of a private Christmas flight for Messi’s family to Argentina; o the increase in remuneration in the event of a tax increase.
There is also an obligation to renew his assistant, Pepe Costa; or the signing of a commitment to pay Rodrigo Messi, Messi’s brother, the commissions due.
At that time (2020), Messi had a contract worth 74.9 million euros and after several negotiations the possibility of renewing it vanished. It was later when the player sent, in August 2020, a burofax asking for the release letter from the club.
The Argentine left the Barça club the following season and signed for French PSG, despite the interest of the current president, Joan Laporta, to redirect the situation.
With information from Agencies
Source: Clarin
