LIONEL MESSI’S Barcelona contract demands from 2020 have reportedly been leaked.
And among the alleged wishes from his failed deal are a private jet – plus VIP boxes for his AND Luis Suarez’s families.
Messi, 35, sensationally left Barca after 21 years in the summer of 2021 when his contract expired.
The Argentina legend eventually joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer.
And Messi is now into his second season with the French champions.
But things could have worked out differently had Barcelona agreed to contract demands reportedly laid out by Messi in 2020.
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El Mundo claims the iconic forward had a list of wishes he wanted fulfilled before committing his future to the Nou Camp.
The first thing Messi apparently wanted was a whopping signing-on bonus of £8.7million.
Incredibly, it’s alleged he also wanted a new release clause worth just £8,700 – effectively allowing him to quit for free at the time of his choosing.
Messi reportedly told Barcelona he wanted a three-year deal with an option to extend.
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And after the first year, his £65m wages were to reportedly increase by TEN per cent each season – on top of annual interest worth three per cent.
Messi also allegedly demanded a private jet be laid on for him and his family so they could fly to Argentina every Christmas.
And finally, Messi reportedly wanted a luxury executive box at the Nou Camp for his family PLUS the family of then-teammate Suarez.
In total, the entire contract would have allegedly set Barcelona back a world-record £492m.
It’s added Barca were happy to go along with all the demands apart from the signing-on fee and release clause.
This is what reportedly led to Messi attempting to force through an exit in the summer of 2020.
And things got even worse when in the same window, Barca sold best pal Suarez to rivals Atletico Madrid.
Ironically a year later, Messi wanted to stay at Barcelona but was informed he could not renew due to their dire financial situation.
But it’s reckoned Xavi Hernandez would jump at the chance to bring Messi back, with his PSG deal up next year.
Barcelona fired back a response following El Mundo’s report.
A statement read: “In relation to the information published today in El Mundo del Siglo XXI, under the title ‘BarçaLeaks, los archivos secretos del club, parte 1’, FC Barcelona expresses its indignation at the leaking of information that would form part of a judicial proceeding.
“The Club also regrets that the medium boasts of having ‘access to a huge amount of documentation and emails that are in the possession of the Barçagate investigation’ when this information and documentation have not yet been shared with the parties.
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“In any case, the article in question makes public documents that have nothing to do with the investigation of the case and its use is an attempt against the reputation and confidentiality of the Club.
“For this reason, and with the aim of protecting FC Barcelona’s rights, the Club’s legal services are already studying the appropriate measures to be taken.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
