Lionel Messi's Father Releases Statement Insisting €700m Clause 'Doesn't Apply at All'

Jorge Messi, the father and agent of Lionel Messi, has released a statement refuting the claims of La Liga regarding the €700m release clause in his son's Barcelona contract. Instead, Messi Snr insists that the much-reported clause actually expired at the end of the 2019/20 season.

Amid the fallout of a tumultuous campaign (on and off the field0 which culminated in the 8-2 Champions League exit to Bayern Munich, six-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi has been weighing up his future.

The superstar forward has yet to turn up for pre-season training at Barcelona, amid talk of a sensational reunion with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, following years of underperformance and mismanagement in Catalonia .

Barcelona have held firm that they will not sell for less than the contractual release clause of €700m, a legal stance backed by La Liga in a statement last week.

After talks between Messi's representatives and Barcelona this week, it was reported on Thursday that the player had made a U-turn on his desire to leave and appeared set to stay at Camp Nou, pending an announcement.

However, the statement released by Messi's father on Friday has only stoked the fires of the saga further by claiming that the 33-year-old is actually entitled to leave for free, by the terms of his contract.

Messi Snr's statement, addressed to La Liga chief Javier Tebas, rejects the league's interpretation of the contract, claiming instead that the release fee 'does not apply at all' from the end of the 2019/20 season onwards.

“This must be an error on La Liga's part,” reads the statement in reference to the claim about the €700m clause.

Messi can now, according to his father's letter, 'unilaterally' make the decision to end his contract as he chooses to.

The statement also includes what appears to be a quote from Messi's contract provided as evidence, which reads: "This indemnity will not apply when the resolution of the contract is taken by unilateral decision of the player after the end of the 2019/20 season."

Following publication of the letter, La Liga quickly hit back with their own, which stood firm on their own interpretation of the contract dispute.

"They have made a decontextualised interpretation and moved away from the literality of the contract," the counter-statement reads.