File photo of Lionel Messi (Photo credit: Reuters)
La Liga, in its official statement, said that the only way out for Lionel Messi was if his termination clause was paid.
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La Liga, on Sunday, decided to side with FC Barcelona in the contractual battle between the club and its best player of all time Lionel messi and said that only if the Argentine’s termination clause is paid can he leave the Catalan club, since the current agreement is still valid.
On Tuesday earlier this week, Messi sent a burofax to Barcelona expressing his wants to leave the club, days after their humiliating 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League. However, Barcelona responded to the Argentine saying that they wanted him to end his career in Catalonia.
Messi asked to execute a clause in his contract that allows him to terminate his contract unilaterally at the end of the 2019-2020 season and be a free agent. Under the contract, Barça say they were allowed to terminate the contract before June 10, but Messi says that with the extension of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic, he has until August 31 to make his decision. The conflict can lead to a legal battle.
After this, Messi has not shown up for training and on Sunday, didn’t even show up for preseason coronavirus tests, exuding the feeling that he may be ready to force his exit from the club.
However, now La Liga has issued a statement on how they see the contract and whether Messi can execute the unilateral termination clause of his contract.
Here is his full statement:
In relation to the different interpretations (some of them contradictory to each other) published in recent days in different media, related to the contractual situation of the player Lionel Andrés Messi with FC Barcelona, LaLiga considers it appropriate to clarify that, once contracted the player with his club has been analyzed:
The contract is currently in force and has a “termination clause” applicable in the event that Lionel Andrés Messi decides to urge the early unilateral termination of the contract, carried out in accordance with article 16 of Royal Decree 1006/1985, dated 26 June, which regulates the special employment relationship of professional athletes.
In compliance with the applicable regulations, and following the corresponding procedure in these cases, LaLiga will not carry out the prior procedure for a federation withdrawal visa for the player if the amount of said clause has not been previously paid.
Coupled with the shame of the Champions League for the past three years, chaos at the club’s highest level prompted the Argentine’s decision. Having last won the Champions League in 2015, Messi’s quest for the Champions League has become almost an obsession, fueled by the fact that Real Madrid won the next three. However, in the last three years, Barcelona have suffered embarrassing losses to AS Roma (3-0), Liverpool (4-0) and Bayern Munich (8-2) this year.
Aside from disappointments on the pitch, Messi and a few other senior players at Barca have been fighting a constant battle with the club’s management and have grown weary of the fight. This year, Messi publicly criticized former sports director Eric Abidal and has also been in a tug of war with the club’s president, Josep Maria Bartomeu. The final straw was the arrival of the new coach Ronald Koeman and telling Luis Suárez, his best friend at the club, that he was not part of his project. Koeman’s insinuation to Suarez occurred on Monday and Tuesday, Messi sent a burofax to the club saying he wanted out.
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