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Lionel Messi and Barcelona will take legal action against Spanish newspaper El Mundo after leaking details of the striker’s record contract on Sunday.
El Mundo released documents relating to Messi’s four-year deal, signed in 2017, and presented a detailed breakdown of the € 555million he would receive if all additions were met. The report claimed that Messi’s contract is the biggest 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 staff involved in the contract leak. There are only four copies of the contract – Messi have one, Barca have another, La Liga have one and Cuatrecasas, the law firm used by the Argentina international.
Barca, meanwhile, responded by denying any involvement in the contract leak and said they would also take “appropriate legal action” against the newspaper.
“In view of the information published today El Mundo, in relation to the professional contract signed between FC Barcelona and the player Lionel Messi, the club regrets its publication since it is a private document governed by the principle of confidentiality between the parties, “said the Catalan club in a statement.
“FC Barcelona categorically disclaims all 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 express their absolute support for Lionel Messi, especially in the face of any attempt to discredit his image, and to damage his relationship with the entity where he worked to become the best player in the world and in the history of the soccer.”
According to El Mundo, Messi would receive a maximum of € 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 renewal bonus of 115 million euros and a loyalty bonus of 77 million euros split into two payments – as revealed by ESPN in November.
Messi is also said to earn around € 72million a year on top of the add-ons for playing over 60% of the games in a season, progressing in the Champions League, winning La Liga or Copa del Rey and winning the best of FIFA.
A number of these performance-related additions were missed and it should also be noted that Messi accepted a pay cut when the coronavirus pandemic first affected football last March.
As a result, he won’t earn the full 555 million euros listed in the contract, which expires on June 30.
Messi’s future beyond that date 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 yet to make a decision on his future and will decide on his next step at the end of the season.
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 can only start in March and the new terms will have to match the club’s new financial situation.
The club’s annual accounts, dated August 2020, revealed earlier this month that the Catalan club’s gross debt had risen to nearly € 1.2 billion.
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