BARCELONA
Lionel Messi: the leaked burofax reveals his Barcelona attitude
Mundo Deportivo obtained access to the transfer request from summer 2020 that gives more insight into the now-PSG player's feelings at Camp Nou.
Just over a year ago, in the summer of 2020, Lionel Messi sent Barcelona that infamous burofax in which he asked to leave the club. Spanish sports outlet Mundo Deportivo has now had direct access to that document, one in which the Argentine pointed to clause 3.1 of his contract, which stipulated that the player could terminate his contract in the 2019/20 season without just cause, although the end of season date was what caused the legal wrangling.
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A Messi burofax
In the document, Messi cites the special circumstances of a season that was extended due to the unfolding covid-19 pandemic and ended in the middle of August.
“By means of the present, and in accordance with the provisions of clause 3.1. of the contract of 25 November 2017, I express to you my willingness to terminate my employment contract as a professional footballer with an effective date of 30 August 2020,” it read.
“The aforementioned clause must be interpreted in accordance with the exceptional circumstances in which the 2019-2020 football competition season has taken place, due to the State of Alarm and the force majeure situation brought about by the covid-19 pandemic.
“Due to this exception, the 2019-2020 competition season ended yesterday, without prejudice to that for our team, this completion would take place on 15 August, when we returned to Barcelona after our elimination from the Champions League on the night of 14 August.”
“In any case, within 10 days after the end of the competition, I exercise my right to terminate the contract with effect date 30 August 2020, with the consequences provided in the aforementioned provision 3.1.
“Yours sincerely, Lionel Andrés Messi.”
PSG a year away
The fax was sent and dated 24 August, one day after the 2020 Champions League final between Bayern and PSG, a match that, according to Messi, concluded Barcelona's season, despite the fact that their last game took place on 15 August. In the end, Messi's departure did not take place as he reluctantly stayed at Barça to avoid a legal dispute with the club of his heart.
As we were to find out some months later, though, his departure from the Camp Nou did arrive. There were some tears, but his new life in Paris is already changing the world.