Barça has shown this Wednesday afternoon its outrage at the information published by 'El Mundo del Siglo XXI' under the title 'BarçaLeaks, the secret archives of the club, part 1'. In it, the conditions that Messi requested to renew for the Blaugrana club in 2020 are revealed. Barcelona expresses "its indignation at the interested leak of some information that would be part of a judicial procedure." The club also regrets that the media "presumes 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 been shared with the parties."
Barcelona recalls that the article publishes documents unrelated to the investigation of the case and that its use threatens "against the reputation and confidentiality of the club." For this reason, Barça ensures that its legal services "are already studying the appropriate measures that need to be carried out."
What 'El Mundo' has published is that Lionel Messi asked in 2020 in his negotiations to renew for three seasons with Barcelona to recover the salary cuts imposed by the club during the pandemic period at 3% interest. This is what the newspaper assures in an information that explains the different conditions that the Argentine put on the table to prolong his relationship with the club of his life.
It should be remembered that in the worst time of the coronavirus, with the competitions stopped, the players agreed to lower their salary by 70% during the state of alarm and defer it afterwards. At that time, the club's ability to generate income was zero, without games, and with the shops and facilities closed.
In the emails exchanged between the father and representative of the footballer, Jorge Messi, and the then president of the club, Josep Maria Bartomeu, a bonus of 10 million is also requested by the player for the renewal. In this sense, it is common for the big stars to request the collection of a premium when they decide to extend their contracts. Neymar, at Barcelona, agreed to receive 40 million for this concept and Kylian Mbappé entered 100 million when he renewed this summer with PSG.
Other requests from Messi were the provision of a box at the Camp Nou for the families of Rosario and Luis Suárez or the payment of a private flight at Christmas for the Argentine's family.
More surprising was the footballer's proposal to lower his termination clause to 10,000 euros. The new contract that was being negotiated was for three seasons and Messi wanted to reserve the right to extend it unilaterally.
Contacted by this newspaper, the footballer's entourage believes that the requests are the usual ones in a negotiation, they see the focus of the publication of 'El Mundo' as disproportionate and remember that Messi generated a third of the club's income.
