Lionel Messi and Barcelona will take legal action against the Spanish newspaper El Mundo after publishing the leaked details of the striker’s record contract on Sunday
El Mundo published documents related to Messi’s four-year contract, signed in 2017, detailing the 555 million euros he would receive if all the supplements were met. The report claimed that Messi’s contract is the largest ever signed by an athlete.
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Sources have confirmed to ESPN that Messi will take action against El Mundo and any Barça staff involved in the leak of the contract. There are only four copies of the contract: Messi has one, Barça has another, the League has one and Cuatrecasas, the law firm used by the Argentine international.
Meanwhile, Barça responded by denying any involvement in the leak of the contract and said they would also take “appropriate legal action” against the newspaper.
“In view of the information published today by El Mundo, in relation to the professional contract signed between FC Barcelona and player Lionel Messi, the club regrets its publication as it is a private document governed by the principle of confidentiality between the parties “. said the Catalan club in a statement.
“FC Barcelona categorically denies any responsibility for the publication of this document and will take appropriate legal action against the newspaper El Mundo for any damage that may be caused as a result of this publication.
“FC Barcelona expresses its absolute support for Lionel Messi, especially in the face of any attempt to discredit his image and damage his relationship with the club where he has worked to become the best player in the world and in the history of football “.
According to El Mundo, Messi would receive a maximum of 555,237,619 euros ($ 673,919,105) in four seasons, if a number of conditions were met.
Including image rights, the report explains that Messi received a renewal premium of 115 million euros and a loyalty premium of 77 million euros divided into two payments, as revealed by ESPN in November.
It is also said that Messi earns about 72 million euros a year, in addition to supplements to play more than 60% of games over a season, progression to the Champions League, win the League or the King’s Cup and win The Best of FIFA.
Several performance-related supplements have not been met and it should be noted that Messi accepted a pay cut when the coronavirus pandemic first hit football last March.
Therefore, it will not earn the full 555 million euros registered in the contract, which expires on June 30.
Messi’s future beyond then remains unknown. He tried to leave the club last summer but was shut down by then-president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
In a recent interview, he explained that he has not yet made any decision about his future and that he will decide his next step when the season ends.
Since he pressed to leave, Bartomeu has left the Camp Nou and the new president will be elected on March 7. The three presidential candidates – Joan Laporta, Victor Font and Toni Friexa – have expressed their desire to keep Messi at the club.
However, negotiations on a new deal will not be able to begin until March and the new conditions will have to correspond to the club’s new financial position.
The club’s annual accounts, dated August 2020, revealed earlier this month that the Catalan club’s gross debt has risen to close to 1.2 billion euros.