Lionel Messi-Barcelona tiff explained: The legal claims, what is burofax and possible destinations

Signed by a napkin, could leave by a burofax. That’s the story of Lionel Messi, who has told lifelong club FC Barcelona that he wants to leave. The Argentine genius has had question marks over his future at Barcelona for a while, especially due to rising discontent with the club hierarchy and lack of success recently by extension. Time and again, the burden of getting the team out of doldrums has fallen on the 33-year-old. Defeats to AS Roma and Liverpool, from a comfortable position, in the previous two Champions League campaigns paled in comparison to what came this year. First Barcelona let their lead slip and saw rivals Real Madrid lift the league title before the hammering blow arrived in Lisbon. Bayern Munich smashed eight goals past a hapless Barcelona in the quarterfinals of the Champions League which meant a trophy-less season for the first time since 2007. It also marked the first time Barca had conceded eight goals since 1946. But what it also meant was Messi contemplating his future, to play his final footballing years elsewhere. What is the situation at Barcelona presently? [caption id=“attachment_8714361” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  A dejected Lionel Messi during the hammering by Bayern Munich in Champions League. AP[/caption] Fall out of the Bayern Munich defeat was almost immediate. The club promised an overhaul of the first team squad, manager Quique Setien was shown the door - just six months after being appointed. Sporting Director Eric Abidal left the club . Ronald Koeman was installed as the manager . So, Barcelona have had Tito Vilanova, Gerardo Martino, Luis Enrique, Ernesto Valverde, Setien and Koeman as managers since Pep Guardiola built a dynasty. More worryingly at an institutional level, the club have been unable to find a suitable sporting director. Since 2014, when Josep Maria Bartomeu replaced Sandro Rosell as club president, Andoni Zubizarreta, Carles Puyol, Albert Soler, Raul Sanllehi, Ariedo Braida, Robert Fernandez, Jose Segura, Abidal and now Ramos Planes have held the role in some nomenclature or the other. Club president Bartomeu spoke about Messi a week ago : “Messi wants to end his career at Barca, he has said that many times. I’ve spoken to Koeman about him and he has told me Messi will be the pillar of his project. Messi has a contract with Barca until 2021. I speak to him and his father regularly and they know that we have a solid project, that a new coach is coming and that he will count on him. Messi is untouchable and non-transferable. He knows it, we all know it.”

Lionel Messi in Europe's top five divisions since 2017-18:

❍ Most goals
❍ Most assists
❍ Most goals from outside the box
❍ Most direct free-kicks scored
❍ Most take-ons completed
❍ Most big chances created
❍ Most through balls
❍ Most final ⅓ passes

You get the idea. pic.twitter.com/lXqxwuqMqf

— Squawka (@Squawka) August 25, 2020

At the time of his unveiling, Koeman had said , “I only want players who want to be here. I don’t know if I have to convince Messi. I don’t know if it’s a yes or a no. Messi is the best player in the world and you want him on your team, not on your opponent’s. For me, as a coach, I’d love to work with Messi. Because he wins you games. And if you can get out of him what he’s proved he can do, I’d be delighted if he stayed. But he’s a Barcelona player and he’s got a contract. I need to speak to him, of course, he’s the captain. Decisions need to be made but hopefully Messi stays here for years.” “I want to know what he Messi thinks. And then it’s up to me to take decisions. But, again, Messi has a year’s contract. But he’s such an important player that any team would want him.” Five days ago, Messi spoke with Koeman and as per local radio station RAC1 he said, “(I’m) more out of the club than in it.” And in the most recent meeting, to get clarity over Messi’s future, the Dutchman said, “Your privileges in the squad are over, you have to do everything for the team. I’m going to be inflexible, you have to think about the team,” reports Olé. And on Tuesday, it was (expected) chaos at the club. Messi informed Barcelona he wanted “unilaterally” to terminate his contract by triggering a release clause. The Argentine sent a ‘burofax’ to let his employers know he wants out. Barcelona, on their part, sent one back claiming they want him to continue and end his sporting career in Catalonia. Wait. What is a burofax?

Il fax#Messi pic.twitter.com/VaZbqC7wWu

— Fabrizio Biasin (@FBiasin) August 25, 2020

A burofax is a service provided by Spain’s postal service (Correos) for sending documents where it is necessary to prove that the document was delivered and clarify the contents of said document. It is widely used where the sender needs to be legally prove that the recipient received the document on a given date and what the contents were. A court will accept the sender’s receipt of delivery as proof the document in question actually was delivered. Why did Messi use a burofax? All in the timing. Messi and his team are relying on a clause in his contract that allows him to leave, if he so chooses, at the end of the season. That was understood to be 31 May, when contracts typically expire. However Messi’s lawyers are arguing that with the season being extended due to coronavirus means that he had a longer period in which to break the deal. Under this argument, Messi had to tell Barcelona he was leaving before the season ended – which his lawyers could argue was the end of the Champions League, with the final being held on 23 August. By using the burofax, Messi is able to prove he told the club on a certain date (said to be 20 August) that he was exercising his right to break the contract.

Barca fans gathered outside the Camp Nou to show their support for Leo Messi. pic.twitter.com/aqYQHzRSEU

— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 25, 2020

More from Sports

With 25th Grand Slam looking increasingly uncertain, Novak Djokovic could fulfill another dream next year Handshake Row: India didn’t do anything out of ordinary, athletes have often registered protests like this

If the matter comes before a judge, which it likely will, Messi’s lawyers will be able to use the burofax details to prove Barcelona were notified in advance. It thus rules out Barcelona’s point that they either did not receive the letter, or that it arrived later and therefore Messi was too late in notifying them. However, legally speaking Barcelona seem to be in the clear. Messi’s contract would need him to notify the club 20 days prior to 10 June, 2020 (seen as ’end of the season’). Even if the final of the Champions League is taken as the close of the season, Messi didn’t make his decision known 20 days prior to 23 August (the date of the final) but on or around 20 August. What next for Messi? Either way the possible legal battle goes, the situation is far from ideal. The club can’t let Messi go for free and the likelihood of any club being able to stump up his release clause of 700 million euros is pretty low. Worth pointing now that the most expensive transfer in history was that of Neymar to PSG from Barcelona for 222 million euros. The next club for Messi depends significantly on who can afford him. The transfer fees, if it isn’t a free signing, would not be less than a 100 million euros, add to that the future wages. The midfield maestro is currently on a blockbuster 8.3 million euros a month or nearly 100 million a year. Not many can fork that exorbitant figure without bleeding money.

If Messi is to leave @FCBarcelona by activating a release clause, then I hope the club try to help, not hinder him. He’s been fiercely loyal and their greatest ever player. It would be terribly sad if it finished with a fight between the player and the club.

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) August 25, 2020

The real contenders are Manchester City (with former Barca manager Pep Guardiola in charge an added lure), Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Inter Milan and Juventus. Although, the likelihood of both Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi in the same team would be a marketing bonanza but not an ideal footballing setup. If we go into it for the romance of the sport, Newell’s Old Boys (Messi’s boyhood club), Leeds United (with Marcelo Bielsa at the helm) and Napoli (a la Diego Maradona) would be the options.