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Lionel Messi is reportedly ready to prosecute up to five ‘suspects’ who he says may have leaked his £ 492million Barcelona contract.
Sunday, Spanish newspaper The world dramatically released all the details of the Argentinian superstar’s mega-money deal at Camp Nou.
Messi signed the deal in 2017 and it will end in June when the 33-year-old can leave for nothing.
Lionel Messi ‘ready to take legal action against five suspects’, he says, could have disclosed his £ 492million Barcelona contract to Spanish newspaper The world during the weekend
The figure was revealed by a Spanish newspaper The world, describing Barcelona’s financial difficulties
The significant leak has revealed that the combination of fixed salary, image rights, variables and tax Barcelona will have to pay on the contract amounts to € 555,237,619 (£ 492million) over its term.
Messi and his side have been enraged by the leak of this confidential financial data and the Catalan radio show RAC1 is reporting that the player is now considering legal action.
The report explains that Messi and his team believe only five people in Barcelona had access to his contractual information.
The five men in question are former president Josep Maria Bartomeu; former vice-president, Jordi Mestre; CEO Oscar Grau; Interim President, Carles Tusquets; and the club’s head of legal services, Romàn Gómez Ponti.
Josep Maria Bartomeu (left) was Barcelona president when Messi extended his contract in 2017, but he has since come out to deny any suggestion he leaked the Argentine’s deal.
Carles Tusquets (left) and Oscar Grau (right) are two people believed to have been observed by Messi
Bartomeu, who resigned from the club last October and whose relationship with Messi deteriorated when he was not allowed to leave last summer, has already spoken publicly of distancing himself from the leak.
‘This is completely wrong [I was involved in the leak]Bartomeu told TV3 in Spain.
“This is a very serious problem because it is totally illegal to disclose a professional contract to the media.
“ It’s easy to lay charges, but it’s not a joke and it’s going to end up in court.
“Messi deserves everything he wins, whether for professional or business reasons. Without the pandemic, Barcelona would be more than able to afford these numbers.
Mestre, who resigned from his post after nine years with the club in April 2019, also walked away from the leaked contract and said he found the story ‘in the press’ in an interview with Cadena SER radio.
“ Messi has helped the club generate a lot more income. Whoever says his contract ruined Barca has no idea or is acting in bad faith – or both, ‘the former vice-president said.
“It surprises me. It’s super confidential. This is the first time that a contract has been disclosed and I do not understand why. I did not speak with Bartomeu about this subject. I discovered it through the press.
Grau, CEO at the time Messi signed the deal, “ categorically denies ” any involvement and claimed on the Catalan radio show Esport3 that “ there are a lot of external people who also have the contract and may have disclosed it. ”
Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman has been furious at the story of the contract leak and called on the club to sack anyone who finds out the manager amid calls for an internal investigation.
Former Vice President Jordi Mestre distanced himself from the leak, telling Cadena SER radio station he discovered Messi’s contract leaked ‘in the press’
Romàn Gómez Ponti (photo) is employed as Head of Legal Services in Barcelona
The angry Barcelona coach said: “ What came out is meant to hurt him. Messi deserves respect.
“He has done so much for Spanish football. There are people who want to hurt Barcelona and Messi.
“ If it turns out that it’s someone on the inside it’s very bad and they shouldn’t have a future at the club. ”
By far revealing that Messi is the highest-paid sportsman of all time, the contract guarantees the player € 138m (£ 122m) per season of gross salary.
He received a ‘renewal fee’ of € 115million (£ 102million) for accepting the deal and is said to earn € 79million (£ 69million) each year as a bonus of “ loyalty ” for his stay at Camp Nou.
Five months from the end of the deal, Messi has already earned € 511million (£ 452million).
Koeman (right) can’t understand why anyone would want to harm Barcelona captain Messi
The report also broke down some of the bonuses awarded to Messi since the 2017-18 campaign.
Under his current contract, Messi earned an additional £ 616,172 (€ 695,748) for winning the FIFA Best Player Award in the 2018-19 campaign.
The Argentine is also guaranteed a whopping £ 3.1million (€ 3.5million) if Barcelona win the Champions League – something the club haven’t achieved since 2015.
Among other variables, Messi takes in an extra £ 1.75million (€ 1.9million) if he plays 60% of matches while receiving extra payouts in every knockout stage of the Champions League which he achieved, as well as winning La Liga and Copa del Rey.
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