Revealed: Lionel Messi’s Excessive Demands In 2020 That Left Barcelona Fuming

Written By Jacobs Dunga

Lionel Messi was close to leaving Barcelona in the summer of 2020 before eventually departing the club on a free twelve months later.

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Spanish newspaper El Mundo has released documents showing Lionel Messi’s demands from Barcelona to have his contract extended back in 2020.

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The publication which shows a series of emails between the player’s father and agent, Jorge Mendes, his lawyers and then-Barcelona’s president Josep Maria Bartomeu and then CEO Oscar Grau.

Barcelona were willing to extend their star player’s contract and accepted almost all of his demands except for the one that requested that his €700m release clause be removed and to be replaced by a symbolic €10,000 an offer which the club turned down.

Messi also requested that the club allow him access to a private jet that would convey him and his family to and from Argentina through the Christmas holidays while asking for a separate luxury box at the Camp Nou for his family and that of close friend Luis Suarez who at the time was still at the club.

The seven time Ballon d’Or winner also asked that the club allow him recover the wage cut he had agreed to during the pandemic with an interest rate of 3%.

Messi also wanted that the 20% fixed salary reduction he signed for the 2020/2021 season be boosted by two separate increases of 10 per cent across the next two seasons, alongside the interest rate.

All those demands were deemed excessive by Barcelona and then president Josep Maria Bartomeu which culminated in Messi leaving the Blaugrana for free twelve months later to sign with PSG.

His father in one of the emails sent to Alfonso Nebot who is the director of the office that manages his son’s wealth as per El Mundo reads: “Let them feel the weight of the sword on their head.” That was the series of events that led to Messi’s demand to leave the club that summer with the Argentine going as far as sending a burofax to the club.

Messi has since left Barcelona to join PSG where he signed for two years.

Meanwhile…

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson was recently called up to the national team despite missing Liverpool’s last couple of games due to injury.

The 32 year old is now relishing the experience once again and asked if the World Cup is his last chance of a silverware with England the former Sunderland player said he’d still carry on as long as he feels good.

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“I hope not! I still feel good. I wouldn’t look too far ahead, I don’t think there is any need to, but it is another huge opportunity. We’ve done well in the last few tournaments and hopefully we’ve learnt from the experience of the last World Cup and Euros and take it into this tournament.

“I look at some players still playing internationals at 36 and 37. So it just depends on how you feel physically and I feel very good. I think last season I played more games than anyone else in Europe. So physically it’s not an issue and I’m still excited being here with England. If that wasn’t the case then obviously I would maybe think about that, but I’m always excited about being called. up. I want to be here and I want to show I can help the team become successful. Until that changes there’s no reason to even think about that (packing it in).”

Henderson already has 69 caps for the Three Lions and is not willing to stop yet having come close to lifting a silverware with his nation at the last Euros tournament where they lost to Italy on penalties.

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