La Liga have dealt Lionel Messi a blow in his quest for an exit from Barca after confirming his €700m release clause remains active.
Lionel Messi continues to be linked with an exit from Barcelona this summer.
It’s about five days ago since he informed the Catalan giants of his intention to leave the club on a free transfer.
There was a clause in his contract that allowed Messi to leave for nothing. However, that clause officially lapsed after July 10.
But the player’s camp believe they can be granted an exception this time around as the current season was extended due to the global pandemic.
On the other hand, Barcelona insist that the full €700m release clause must be paid or no transfer whatsoever can happen.
Amidst rumors the case could drag on to court, La Liga have decided to comment on the saga with their statement going in Barcelona’s favour.
Spanish football’s main governing body now say that the only way Messi can leave is to find a club willing to pay his €700m as Barcelona claim.
An official statement on La Liga’s website reads: “In relation to the different interpretations (some of them contradictory to each other) published in recent days in different media, related to the contractual situation of the player Lionel Messi with Barcelona, La Liga considers it convenient to clarify [matters].
“The contract is currently in force and has a ‘termination clause’ applicable to the event that Lionel Messi decides to force the early unilateral termination of the contract.
“In compliance with the applicable regulations, and following the corresponding procedure in these cases, La Liga will not carry out the process for the player to be removed from the federation if they have not previously paid the amount of said clause.”
Already, Messi did not show up for testing at the club’s training centre on Sunday morning as he intends pushing through for an exit.
If the Argentine would leave Spain at all, Manchester City are said to be the most likely destination for the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.
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