Argentine superstar Lionel Messi's father and agent, Jorge Messi, dismisses Barcelona and La Liga's claims surrounding his son's release clause in a statement released Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th September, 2020) Argentine superstar Lionel Messi's father and agent, Jorge Messi, dismisses Barcelona and La Liga's claims surrounding his son's release clause in a statement released Friday.
Messi handed in his transfer request following the unceremonious end to last season, that yet again brought Champions League heartbreak.
According to the Messi camp, a clause in his contract with Barcelona states that the six-time Ballon D'Or winner can leave at the end of the season on a free transfer if he so chooses. Late last week, Spanish football league La Liga sided with Barcelona management in saying that Messi can leave only if his 700 million euro ($829 million) release clause is activated.
"We do not know which contract they [La Liga] have analyzed, and which are the bases on which they conclude that it would have a termination clause applicable in the event that the player decides to urge the unilateral termination of the same," Jorge Messi said in a statement shared with the media, as translated by sports journalist Fabrizio Romano.
The statement quotes the part in the contract that specifies Messi's right to unilaterally leave the club at the end of the 2019/20 season on a free transfer.
"This one about the 700 million euro release clause must be an error on La Liga part," the statement read, according to Romano.
The statement contradicts reports circulated earlier in the day about Messi's alleged decision to stay with his boyhood club.
La Liga's office released a response almost immediately, reiterating that the 700 million euro clause is valid and criticizing Messi's interpretation of the contract details.
English football club Manchester City has been in poll position to capture the Argentine, given the club's deep pockets and the fact that his former manager, Pep Guardiola, currently coaches that team.
Reports earlier in the week suggested that City would only be able to sign the 33-year-old if he leaves Barcelona for free, due to Financial Fair Play rules barring egregious spending.
Messi has been part of the club since 2000 and has won dozens of trophies and even headlined two treble-winning seasons. The club's last Champions League win, however, came in 2015 and it has since suffered humiliating exits from the competition annually. It is widely believed that Messi has been increasingly at odds with the way the club is run by President Josep Maria Bartolomeu.
