What did Lionel Messi ask from FC Barcelona in 2020?

Lionel Messi is in the news again in Barcelona. It is just over two years since the Argentine sent the club the famous burofax conveying his desire to leave the Blaugrana. Spanish outlet El Mundo has published a series of emails related to the Barçagate investigation that could shed some light.

The report claims to have a large amount of documentation and emails, including information on Neymar Jr and Gerard Piqué. In the case of Messi, the content of several emails between his father and agent, Jorge Messi, his lawyers and the former president Josep Maria Bartomeu and the Barça executive leadership has been revealed today, in which they discuss Messi’s conditions for renewing his contract in 2020.

On 11 June, Jorge Pecourt, a lawyer at Cuatrecasas, sent an email to Bartomeu, Óscar Grau, the club’s CEO, and Romàn Gomez-Ponti, head of legal services, with a copy to Jorge Messi and Alfonso Nebot, head of the Leo Messi family office, detailing Messi’s conditions for renewal:

- Contract until 2023 with the possibility of unilateral extension for Leo Messi.

- Fixed salary: a 20% reduction of the fixed salary in 2020/21, recovering 10% of the salary in 21/22 and another 10% in 22/23 with interest of 3% per annum.

- Payment of outstanding loyalty bonuses with interest.

- Box at Camp Nou for the families of Messi and Luis Suárez.

- Private Christmas flight for the whole family to Argentina.

- In case of termination of contract, payment of the deferred amounts in the 2020/21 season plus interest.

- Signing bonus of €10 million (to be paid on 30/6/2023).

- Remuneration increase in the event of tax increase.

- Elimination of the termination clause, which will be set at €10,000.

In addition to the conditions above, Messi also asked for two issues to be resolved before signing:

- Pepe Costa’s renewal so that his contract would last as long as Messi’s.

- Signing of a commitment by the club to pay Rodrigo Messi the commissions owed to him.