Lionel Messi is at a huge risk of a six month ban if he leaves for free.
But that’s not it. Messi might have to potentially pay 700 million euros all by himself if he exits the Catalan club on a free transfer. The exit clause will still be pending and it will have to come out of the player’s pocket, due to legal action taken by the club.
The reason this might happen is because Messi did not inform the club about his leave before his contract legally ended – he informed in August – thus marking him late and liable to the penalty.
“The clause in the contract is June 10 and the end of the season contractually is June 30, when contracts usually end, marking the end of the season,” sports lawyer Francisco Dominguez is quoted as saying.
“This, therefore, means a 20-day period before the ‘end’ of the season. Therefore, we know he has notified the club too late, according to the original date, by withdrawing from his contract in August.”
“So maybe the judge could say it is €500 million but that is still really, really high as a penalty!” he says.
“In my opinion, it is really a high risk for Messi. The best option, therefore, is to try and close an agreement [between the clubs or to stay].”
