Barcelona Issues Statement After Terms Of Lionel Messi's Contract Leaked

Details surrounding star footballer Lionel Messi's contract talks were leaked in the Spanish press, and Barcelona have said that they will pursue legal action.

In 2020, the Argentine footballer was negotiating to extend his stay at the Camp Nou. It was 12 months before he ultimately joined Paris Saint-Germain. Messi had gone into that summer hoping to reach an agreement. It was before he tried and failed to engineer an exit, reported Mirror.

On Wednesday, a list of the Messi's proposed demands was leaked by El Mundo. They obtained emails exchanged between the footballer's father and agent, Jorge Messi, his attorneys and then-Barcelona’s President Josep Maria Bartomeu and then-CEO Oscar Grau.

He had many requests, which were accepted by the club. One of them was the removal of his 700 million euros ($68,77,41,012) buy-out clause, replacing it with a symbolic buy-out of just 10,000 Euros ($9,824.85).

Barcelona have now hit back at the leaked information. They alleged that they hadn’t been made privy to many of the emails that were obtained by the publication and have even threatened legal action.

Barca said in a statement in relation to the information published in El Mundo, "FC Barcelona expresses its indignation at the interested leak of some information that would form part of a Judicial investigation." It added that the club also regrets that the publication boasts of having had "access to a huge amount of documentation and emails that are in the possession of the Barçagate investigation" when this information and documentation has "not yet been shared with the parties."

The statement noted that the article in question makes public documents that have "nothing to do with the investigation of the case and their use threatens the reputation and confidentiality of the club." The club further said that for this reason, and with the aim of protecting the rights of FC Barcelona, the club's "legal services are already studying the appropriate measures to undertake.”

In the leaked information, there were also demands which would require Messi's family access to a luxury box at the Camp Nou. Barca Universal reported that Messi, and fellow team members took a pay-cut in 2020 to help the club during the coronavirus pandemic. However, the captain wanted Barcelona to pay it back to him, with a 3% interest rate.

The star also successfully persuaded Bartomeu to allow him and his family members the use of a private jet to allow him to fly back to Argentina as and when he wanted to.