10:26 AM
Sunday 05 September 2021
I wrote – Menna Omar:
The Catalan newspaper, Mundo Deportivo, revealed the message of Lionel Messi, the former Barcelona player and the current Paris Saint-Germain, that he sent to former club president Josep Maria Bartomeu last year about his desire to leave the Camp Nou.
And in August of 2020, Messi blew up a surprise that shook Barcelona, by sending a letter to Bartomeu asking to leave the Catalan club and activating the free departure clause from the Blaugrana ranks.
Messi’s last contract with Barcelona allowed him to leave the Catalan club for free, provided that this condition is activated before the tenth of June.
But the Argentine player sent the letter on the twenty-fourth of August due to the suspension of activity and the late end of the season due to the repercussions of the Corona virus, which Bartomeu relied on and refused to activate the departure clause for the 34-year-old.
“Mundo” published a picture of Messi’s letter sent to Bartomeu, noting that the message was sent at exactly 6:19 pm on the twenty-fourth of August 2020, from the address of Messi’s office located on Avenida Diagonal in Barcelona, to the address of the club’s offices.
The letter was as follows:
“According to Clause 3.1 of the November 25, 2017, contract, I express to you my desire to terminate my employment as a professional player, and I know that the term of unilateral termination of the contract has expired, but it must be clarified that we live in exceptional circumstances due to the interruption of the 2019-20 season.”
** Clause 3.1 in Messi’s contract, stipulates that the last contract between the two parties stipulates a contract term beginning on July 1, 2017, and ending on June 30, 2021, provided that Messi is allowed to leave Barcelona without claiming a reason at the end of the 2019-20 season (before 10 June 2020) without any rights to FC Barcelona.
The statement added: “After the end of the season, and in accordance with the aforementioned clause (which must be interpreted according to the exceptional circumstances of the 2019-2020 season), I exercise my right to terminate the contract as of August 30, 2020, with the consequences provided for in the aforementioned clause.. Regards, Lionel Andres Messi.” .
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