La Liga backing Barcelona

La Liga has backed Barcelona in the Lionel Messi saga. The authority said that any club which wants to sign Lionel Messi from the Nou Camp will have to trigger the €700 million release clause contained in Messi’s contract.

The 33-year old has led Barca to 10 Spanish titles and four UEFA Champions League crowns on his way to becoming arguably the best player of all time. Messi notified Barcelona last week he wants to walk away from the club by exercising a clause in his contract. It allows him to leave for free at the end of each season. Even though the deadline to exercise the clause has passed, La Pulga’s lawyers believe Barcelona should honour it as the season had to be extended because of the coronavirus pandemic.

La Liga’s intervention comes just hours after Messi failed to report for coronavirus testing at Barcelona’s training complex. It means he would not participate in Ronald Koeman’s first training session as the club’s new head coach on Monday afternoon. Messi’s representatives are expected to meet with Barcelona officials next week to discuss the current issues. The Argentine still wants to personally meet with the club hierarchy to negotiate his release. The side has so far refused the demands. The officials further said they will only meet to talk about a new contract.

Messi might be doing all this just to get rid of Barca President Bartomeu. The pair have not been on the same terms ever for a long time now. Bartomeu’s signings have not even helped much since Neymar’s departure. Coutinho, Dembele and Griezmann have all failed at some level or the other. The early exits from the UEFA Champions League for the last 3 seasons have compounded the problems. Bartomeu has apparently even given the option of resigning in order to keep Messi at the club.

La Liga knows the importance of Messi, both as a player and a global superstar. Thus, the Spanish league is desperate to hold on to him. Even though Messi wants to leave, the ultimate decision might not be his hands. A lot of European giants might be able to afford his wages, but not even the likes of Manchester City or PSG can shell out enough to activate the Buyout clause.

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