Lionel Messi and Barcelona will take legal action against Spanish newspaper El Mundo after it released leaked details of the attacker’s record-breaking contract this Sunday.
El Mundo published documents related to Messi’s four-year deal, signed in 2017, and gave a complicated breakdown of the € 555 million he would receive if all the add-ons were met. The report claimed 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 Barca personnel involved in the leak of the contract. There are only four copies of the contract – Messi has one, Barça has another, La Liga has a copy, and so does Cuatrecasas, the law firm used by the Argentina international.
Barca, meanwhile, responded by denying any involvement in the leakage of the contract, saying they would also take “appropriate legal action” against the newspaper.
“In view of the information published today El Mundo, regarding the professional contract between FC Barcelona and the player Lionel Messi, the club regrets its publication as it is a private document governed by the principle of confidentiality between the parties, ”the Catalan club said in a statement.
FC Barcelona categorically disclaims any responsibility for the publication of this document and will take appropriate legal action against El Mundo newspaper for any damage that may be caused as a result of this publication.
FC Barcelona expresses its absolute support for Lionel Messi, especially in light of any attempt to discredit his image and to reinforce his relationship with the entity where he has worked to become the best player in the world and in football history. harm. “
According to El Mundo, Messi would receive up to € 555,237,619 ($ 673,919,105) over four seasons, if a series of conditions were met.
Including image rights, the report explains that Messi received a € 115 million renewal bonus and a € 77 million loyalty bonus, split into two payments – as revealed by ESPN in November.
Messi would also earn around € 72 million annually, in addition to add-ons for playing more than 60% of the matches during a season, progressing the Champions League, winning La Liga or the Copa del Rey and FIFA’s The Best.
Some of those performance-related add-ons have not been met, and it should also be noted that Messi accepted a pay cut when the coronavirus pandemic first hit football last March.
Therefore, he will not earn the full € 555 million stated in the contract, which expires on June 30.
Messi’s future thereafter remains unknown. He tried to leave the club last summer, but was closed by then-president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
In a recent interview, he explained that he has not yet made up his mind about his future and will decide on his next move when the season ends.
Since pushing to leave, Bartomeu has left Camp Nou and a new president will be elected on March 7. All three presidential candidates – Joan Laporta, Victor Font and Toni Friexa – have expressed a desire to keep Messi at the club.
However, negotiations on a new deal cannot begin until March and the new conditions will have to match 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 reached nearly € 1.2 billion.